(Snowflakes) On My Wrist
by Jess and Lin
Summary: What if Jamie had a secret no one was supposed to know about? And what happens when someone close to him finds out? T for self-harm, trigger warning
1. Snowflakes and Scars

I'm Lin, and this is my first time writing fanfiction.

It's mostly about trying to quit, and I'll try not to be graphic with the self-harm parts.

Disclaimer - I don't own Rise of the Guardians.

~RotG~

Jamie Bennet and his friends still believed in the Guardians even as they became teenagers. It was hard not to believe in the Guardians when the Guardian of Fun visited the kids of Burgess whenever he could.

Jamie was known as the last light, a good student, a caring brother and son, and he was often told by many adults that he had a "bright future ahead of him."

But he never told anyone about the secret eating away at him.

As Jamie grew up, life started to take its toll on him like it does to most teenagers and kids. Even the strongest could lose their way not matter how much they try not to. And Jamie had tried so hard not to lose his way, always keeping his friends and family in mind. But he soon learned that once you start something it can be incredibly hard to stop it.

It was easy, hiding his scars. His best friend was the embodiment of winter, so he always had an excuse to wear a jacket or long-sleeved shirts around him. Jamie's mother had to work, and Sophie was often too busy watching tv, doing homework or - when she grew older - talking to her friends and spending time with them instead of at home with her big brother, who needed her more than he wanted to admit.

If Jamie's mom or Sophie ever thought anything seemed different about him, they never mentioned it.

And while Jamie was relieved that his family never found out, he was completely caught off guard by the one person who did.

"Hey, Jamie, I was in the area and decided to - " Jack flew through Jamie's open window suddenly, and Jamie froze with the blade in hand. Jack stopped, slowly realizing what was going on. " - drop by..." He trailed off.

The two teenagers stared at each other with expressions of shock and fear.

Jack Frost had spent three hundred years alone and knew what it felt like to be invisible and not good enough. And because he knew what it was like, he had always tried his hardest to be there whenever Jamie needed him, to make sure he never felt alone. And to realize his best friend was hurting without him realizing it shocked him. He was confused and almost as upset as Jamie when his little brother choked out what had been going on, when and why he'd started self-harming.

He had no idea what to say or how to help him.

_How did I never notice? _Jack wondered frantically, hugging his younger friend tightly as Jamie started to cry.

"Are you angry?" Jamie asked him nervously once he'd calmed down a long while later. He was exhausted from crying so much and hadn't been sleeping well before Jack found out.

"Wha - ? No!" Jack said, quickly, shaking his head. "Jamie, I could never be angry at you. No, I'm not angry."

"I can't stop," Jamie hiccupped, wiping his eyes - for tears or from exhaustion, Jack wasn't sure. "I've tried to stop, but it's been hard..."

"Hey, don't cry," Jack said, softly, "I'm here for you. I'll help you stop if you want me to. I'm always here for you, Jamie, so - so you can always count on me, okay? Don't worry." Jamie smiled sadly and nodded. "And next time you ever wanna do this - " Jack waved a hand helplessly, but Jamie understood what he meant. " - we'll have a little fun instead. Okay?"

"Okay," Jamie agreed, then sighed.

Jack smiled at him reassuringly. "Let's get you cleaned up, then you can sleep." _Even if I have to go halfway across the world to get Sandy's dreamsand, you're gonna get a good night's sleep tonight._

Jamie let Jack tell the other Guardians, all of whom were shocked but willing to help.

On Jamie's worst days, Tooth showed Jamie's his best memories of childhood.

Every night, Sandy sent him sweet dreams to help him sleep well.

North and Bunny invited Jamie (and Sophie) to help design new toys and patterns to keep Jamie distracted. They also helped him to remember the wonder in the world and to never lose hope.

And Jack kept his friend busy with all the snow days spent with their friends. Jack also listened whenever Jamie needed to talk after long, hard days at school.

It would take time before Jamie would no longer need to self-harm, but they were all willing to stop and talk to their favorite teenager if it meant helping him in even the smallest way.

One morning after Sandy had left but before Jack came to visit, Jamie had listened to something on the news that depressed him enough to want to self-harm again after being clean for a few months.

Jamie tried to focus on the most recent memories Tooth had shown him, but he quickly found himself in his room, digging through the messy room trying to find something - _anything _- sharp to stop the burning need to cut.

He had just found a pair of scissors when there was a crashing noise outside his door and a muffled "Ow!"

Jamie dropped the scissors and ran out to find Sophie kneeling beside a mess of scattered papers and markers as she tried to gather them all back together.

"Sophie? You okay?" Jamie asked as he kneeled beside her. She nodded, blushing. "What happened?"

"I fell," she mumbled, embarrassed. "I wanted to draw Bunny's Warren for the art contest at school, and I tripped."

Jamie helped her pick up the art supplies and held them out to her as they stood up. "I'm sure you'll win," he assured her, forcing a believable smile. "So don't worry about it. If you rush through it, it might not come out as good."

"I know," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Thanks." She took the supplies and went into her room.

Jamie started to go to his own room when he nearly slipped on a stray marker. He picked it up and was about to return it to his sister when he noticed the color.

It was a baby blue marker with a swirly design that reminded Jamie of Jack. Thinking of all the Guardians' hard work to help Jamie stop self-harming, he suddenly felt a rush of guilt and shame. _They tried so hard to help_, he thought sadly, _and I was about to throw it all away._

Then, holding up the marker, Jamie felt the old need to self-harm and decided to try something else.

Smiling to himself, Jamie returned to his room with the marker and sat on his bed and looked out the window for a while to let the need slowly fade a bit. Not seeing his friend in sight, Jamie pulled up his sleeve and began drawing swirls and snowflakes over his scars instead of making more. Over the worst scars, Jamie wrote in large letters,

"_I believe in Jack Frost._"

~RotG~

I tried to be vague about the cutting part, but I'm not sure if I did such a good job. And, Jess, if you're reading this... I TOLD YOU IT WAS SAD! So I'm sorry if I depressed you with this.


	2. What They Never Knew

Because Jess asked for it...and I figured, Why not? So here I am with this.

~RotG~

Jamie was thirteen when he first started, but it wasn't until he turned fourteen that Sophie noticed the odd cuts and scars on his arms.

"What happened, Jamie?" she asked him with wide, innocent blue eyes.

Jamie hesitated, then smiled and replied, shrugging, "I fell." He patted her head and ruffled her hair affectionately as he added teasingly, "You aren't the only clumsy one in the family, Soph."

She had giggled and slapped his hands away. But she quickly forgot the conversation and didn't ask about the new cuts over the next few days. Eventually, the scars were hidden underneath jackets and long-sleeved shirts before she could figure out what they were.

Sometime after Jamie turned seventeen, the Guardians suddenly let the two siblings visit whenever they wanted, no matter how busy they were. Sophie thought it was odd but she enjoyed spending time with the Guardians and never complained or questioned it.

But over time she noticed that the Guardians seemed more concerned about the Bennets than before and most of that concern was focused on her older brother. Sophie never minded the lack of attention toward herself, but she couldn't help wondering why they were suddenly worried about Jamie.

Whatever was wrong, she decided, the Guardians could handle it. If they could defeat Pitch, then they could do anything, right? She never thought that maybe she should have been concerned, too.

She didn't think anything of how bad everything was until the day Bunny gave Jamie an encouraging prep-talk about never losing hope when they thought she couldn't hear them.

_Losing hope?_

Sophie shook her head as she slowly stopped painting the egg in her hand. _Jamie? No way he'd ever lose hope. And what's there to lose hope over anyway?_

Then she felt guilty for not knowing what was going on in Jamie's life when her brother knew almost everything that was going on in hers.

What Sophie knew was that Bunny was the Guardian of Hope, and she knew how important hope was to the Pooka. He was the one who was always willing to drop everything to spend time with her (except before Easter, but she understood why), just like Jack was the one who would drop everything to spend time with Jamie.

Hearing the prep-talk worried Sophie, but she didn't want to pry into her brother's life.

Sophie didn't know that her definition of "prying" was Jamie's definition of "showing she cared".

Sophie didn't remember the scars from over three years prior nor connected them to the Guardians' (and her brother's) odd behavior.

But then it all suddenly clicked on Christmas Eve.

Jamie and Sophie had made it a tradition to stay up for North's visit to their home, just like they tried to see Bunny on Easter and help him hide eggs in Burgess.

Sophie had fallen asleep, but she woke up as North and Jamie were putting the gifts under the tree and in the stockings.

She wanted to greet him, but she was too tired to move a muscle and decided not to. But then North's words caught her attention when he mentioned scars on Jamie's arms.

She still didn't move, but she listend carefully through her half-asleep state. _North's accent is a lot harder to understand when you're exhausted_, Sophie thought sleepily. _Maybe I heard him wrong?_

Jamie's words were much clearer and couldn't be misunderstood.

"They're fading," he said quietly, "but I still can't let Sophie or my mom see them. They'd worry too much."

"They love you," North replied firmly, patting Jamie on the shoulder. "And so do we - Jack, Tooth, Bunny, Sandy and myself - all of us. We are always here for you, Jamie."

"Thanks, North," Jamie mumbled, and Sophie knew he was embarrassed without even looking.

North left, and Jamie eventually fell alseep on the sleeping bag that was spread out on the floor. Sophie didn't move for a long time as she tried to grasp what she had just heard.

_Scars on Jamie's wrists? Something he can't let us see? His own family?_ But one thought kept repeating itself over and over in her mind.

_Jamie, what's going on?_

Sophie leaned over the edge of the couch she was laying on to look down at her older brother.

Even in his sleep, Jamie was wearing long-sleeved shirts. Sophie reached out with a trembling hand to gently pull back the sleeve over the wrist closest to her.

What she saw made her gasp and flinch.

Pale scars were covering her older brother's wrist.

And suddenly it all made so much sense.

When Jamie wore long-sleeved jackets and shirts, it wasn't just because Jack was there and it was cold. When Jamie skipped dinner so much, it wasn't because he wasn't hungry or that he'd "eaten earlier". When Jamie walked with a slight limp, it wasn't because he had pulled a muscle or twisted his ankle. When Jamie evaded questions about school or his job, it wasn't because he was too tired to talk or because it was just "okay".

There were so many signs Sophie had seen but never fully understood. And she felt guilty for not being there for her brother who was always there for her. Then she felt angry.

North knew? Bunny? _Who else knows?_

Then she realized who else had known. Sophie covered her mouth as she sat up on the couch.

The Guardians knew. All five of them. How they had found out, she didn't know, but if their change in behavior was anything to go on, they hadn't known for very long.

Sophie didn't sleep well for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Sophie noticed that while North had left her several presents, Jamie had only gotten one.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, focusing on the wrapped present instead of her brother's covered wrists. _Don't stare_, she told herself firmly.

Jamie shrugged as he looked at the present. "I didn't ask North for anything," he admitted as he tore off the wrapping slowly. Sophie bit her lip to prevent from asking why. _He might not wanna talk about it._

Jamie stared at the present in his lap for a moment before opening the colorful, wooden box. "Markers," he said, sounding amused. "A red, blue, yellow, green and purple one." Sophie didn't understand, but she smiled at the look of joy on Jamie's face.

The markers matched the outside of the carefully carved, wooden box in her brother's hand. The pattern on the outside of the box was made up of a present drawn with two shades of red, a purple tooth, a yellow cloud, an Easter egg painted with two shades of green and a blue snowflake - all on a grey background.

It was an odd pattern when Sophie really thought about it, yet the pattern was made to appear as normal as possible. She had a feeling North had made the box and markers himself just for Jamie.

What the colored markers meant to Jamie, Sophie couldn't say for sure, but she guessed that it had something to do with the Guardians who knew and understood Jamie's situation better than she did.

Sophie decided to keep an eye on Jamie, but she thought he seemed like he was doing fine with the Guardians giving him the love and attention he needed.

_He'll be okay_, Sophie thought, but she decided to spend more time with Jamie whenever she got a chance - and if she didn't get a chance, then she would make time for him. It was the least she could do for him.

Looking down at her own presents, she thought about how hers were most likely made by the yetis. But she looked over at her brother and decided he deserved his handmade gift from North. She knew he would need the extra love and attention if he was to keep trying not to lose hope and know that he was truly loved.

~RotG~

To **Jake Nickleby** - I'm glad I could help you, and thanks for leaving such an amazing review. A lot of times I regret self-harming, and Rise of the Guardians is actually a big inspiration for me to stop. I'm really glad I could help, and I hope you never self-harm in any way. Trust me, it feels good at first, but it can get really bad over time, especially if you become addicted to it. Then it's like you _have _to cut every time something really bad happens, and it's been hard trying to stop. I relapsed earlier after trying so hard the last few days. You won't believe how ashamed I felt after that, and I hope you never have to feel that way.

To **FrostFan **- I had made a rough draft and mentioned that Jack never self-harmed, but I guess it never made it to the final draft, huh? Now that I've heard your idea, I'm really considering it. But...Jess wanted me to write about Sophie and her thoughts when she finds out about Jamie.

Have a great week! :)


	3. His Worst Fear

I haven't read the books, so I'm going off of things that I've read randomly online and what I've seen from the movie, so I'm sorry if I get anything wrong.

~RotG~

Jack was flying to Burgess as the sun was setting when he first spotted the nightmares.

A large herd of nightmares were wandering around his lake and looking around themselves. A few of them were fighting or racing each other. It took Jack a moment to realize that the nightmares were bored and had probably been standing around there for hours.

It had been months since the last time Jack had seen any nightmares in the area. Pitch Black was never with them, but North had once told Jack that while Pitch was the Nightmare King, he wasn't always around to look after the nightmares who could "take care of themselves" when it came to tormenting children, teens and even adults.

_I wonder if they're looking for me? _Jack shook his head as he flew closer towards the nightmares. "Hey!"

Several nightmares looked up at Jack, surprised, then flew away. A few of them lingered, pawing at the ground impatiently. Some snorted and stared up at him before lazily wandering away from the lake in various directions.

Jack hesitated. _I should go after them_, he thought, biting his lip. He looked in the direction of the Bennet's house._ But what about Jamie? I promised I'd be there before he got home._

Jack flew closer to the remaining nightmares, who instantly raced away. Only one remained.

The last of the nightmares looked at Jack, snorted and reared, kicking the air.

Jack landed on the lake's surface, which froze beneath his feet. He held his staff out, ready to defend himself if the nightmare attacked. "Are you challenging me?" he asked the nightmare, who screamed suddenly - and fled.

Jack made a quick decision and went after the nightmares instead of to Jamie's like he had promised. It was his job to protect children, and he knew Jamie would be okay for a few hours without him. If Jamie really needed someone to talk to, he could always go to Sophie or his mom.

Jack could only hope Jamie would understand.

As Jack chased the nightmares, Pitch watched with a smirk in the shadows before vanishing.

"Jack?" Jamie called out as he walked into his bedroom. Looking around, he realized that the window was unlocked but closed. There wasn't even a chill in the air; Jack wasn't there. _He's supposed to be here_, Jamie thought, disappointed. _He promised._

Jamie had been having a rough day at work, and he didn't want to be alone. Sophie had sensed Jamie's mood and tried to stay home with him, but their mom had taken her to run errands, buy food and get whatever else they needed around the house.

_They won't be back for another hour_, Jamie thought, sighing. He opened the box North had given him and picked up the blue marker to stare at it for a moment. _Where are you, Jack?_

The window opened suddenly, and Jamie put the marker back. "Jack?" he called hopefully. When Jack didn't answer, Jamie began to worry. "This isn't funny!"

"Maybe not for you," Pitch replied, emerging from the shadows. Jamie spun around, startled. "But for me it's been _very _fun."

It took Jamie a moment to recognize Pitch. It had been years since the two had last seen each other, thanks to the Guardians.

"I don't understand," Jamie said, shaking his head. "Where's Jack?"

Pitch's grin revealed sharp teeth that made Jamie step back warily. "You should have stopped believing a long time ago, Jamie. But you didn't. Why is that?"

Jamie took a deep breath and recalled Jack's words from years before. _They're just bad dreams, Jamie. _"Where's Jack?" He froze when Pitch chuckled darkly. Something wasn't right. "He's supposed to be here. What did you do to him?"

"I haven't done anything," Pitch said calmly. "Jack, however, is halfway across the world. It looked like he was having fun to me. Like he'd forgotten all about you."

"No." Jamie narrowed his eyes at Pitch, who's grin widened. "No, Jack wouldn't forget - "

"No?" Pitch interrupted him, smiling. "Are you sure?" He chuckled again when Jamie hesitated. "Friends tend to forget things, Jamie. Right before they leave you."

"Shut up!" Jamie snapped, but his voice broke.

"You're afraid," Pitch stated casually, "afraid of losing your friends, your family, all of them. You're afraid that if they knew what you did to yourself - what you _will _do soon - that they would leave you."

"I stopped," Jamie said firmly, turning away from Pitch. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head to clear it. "Jack, Tooth, Sandy, North, Bunny - they all helped me to stop."

"Because they owe you a debt."

Jamie spun around, confused. It took him a moment to speak. "...what debt?"

_He's lying, there's no debt. The Guardians stopped me because they cared._

But Jamie couldn't ignore Pitch's words.

"The one they owe you for believing in them when no one else did. You were supposed to stop believing in them like all the other children that night." Jamie didn't have to ask what night Pitch was talking about; he remembered all of it clearly now. "But you didn't. You kept believing and even helped your friends to believe again. Now the Guardians are trying to pay you back. And once they have, they will forget about you, and you will forget about them. To them, it will be as if you never existed."

"You'd know how that feels, wouldn't you?" Jamie retorted, but then he felt guilty when he realized Jack knew that feeling, too.

A look of annoyance crossed Pitch's face, but Jamie didn't see it. Pitch regained his mask and went on with his act. "You still haven't stopped believing. And why not?"

Jamie didn't answer. But Pitch already knew the reason.

"Because you're afraid - terrified - that once you stop believing in the Guardians, you would be all alone. Abandoned by the ones you called your family. Isn't that right, Jamie?"

Jamie lowered his head for a moment, and Pitch smirked. But then Jamie raised his head again and said, slowly, "There's no debt." Pitch's smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Because we _are _a family. And that's never gonna change."

"Oh, really?" The Nightmare King gave Jamie a sympathetic look. "The Guardians couldn't even spare a moment for you before they found out about your self-harming. They didn't _really _care. Not until you needed their help. Then they all jumped at the chance to repay their debt to you."

"Stop!" Jamie's fists clenched at the reasoning in Pitch's words. "_That isn't true!_"

But the doubt in Jamie's voice was clear to Pitch, who smirked at the looks of confusion and helplessness on Jamie's face.

Until they realized how much Jamie was suffering, the Guardians hadn't noticed anything. They had all been too busy with their jobs/holidays for many visits until after finding out. Then the Guardians were taking time out of their work to spend with Jamie, listening to him and trying to help him out.

"Wouldn't I know more about the Guardians after dealing with them for centuries?" Pitch asked Jamie in a gentle voice.

Jamie's words were slow and held less certainty than before. "They _do _care. They cared enough to help me stop cutting."

Pitch looked out the window, frowning. Jamie followed his gaze but didn't see anything. Then Pitch vanished into the darkness, but his voice lingered in the air.

"They _made _you stop, Jamie. So the question for you is - why?"

Jack flew through Jamie's window just after Pitch's voice had faded. Jamie looked at him with wide, fearful eyes that broke Jack's heart. Jack took a step towards Jamie, but Jamie retreated away from him quickly, away from his friend. Jack stopped, confused.

"Where were you? Jack," Jamie's voice was shaky and sounded close to tears, "Pitch is _right_. He's completely right...about me. He's right."

"Jamie, it's okay," Jack said soothingly as he set his staff aside and took careful steps towards Jamie, like he did centuries ago when he was saving his sister from the lake. One misplaced step would break the ice between them holding Jamie up from falling into darkness - not the lake this time but a darkness just as dangerous. "Don't worry, okay? I'm here for you. We'll get through this together. I promise, Jamie. And I won't break this promise, okay?"

Jack held his hand out to Jamie, who watched him warily.

_What in the world did Pitch tell him that makes him look so afraid?_ Jack decided that he would track Pitch down and kill him if he went near Jamie again. _Then again_, Jack thought, noticing that the look of fear still hadn't gone away, _I might just do that anyway._

Jamie was shaking his head, but he took Jack's hand. Jack pulled his friend into a tight hug as Jamie began to cry. "I'm scared, Jack."

"I know, buddy."

_I'm scared he was right about you too._

~RotG~

This one made me feel bad for Jamie. If it seemed like Jamie gave up too easily, my excuse is that we're both tired. Him from work, me from school.

My week's been okay so far, thanks to Jess taking me to see Iron Man 3 yesterday. :)

To **Guest** - Your review did help. I'm always worried about each chapter I post 'cause I'm always afraid no one will like them, and thanks for showing you cared.

To **Spiral-Of-Fools **- I'm glad you were able to stop, even if it's been just a little while. It really does suck, which is why I've been trying to quit. And it does mean a lot to me to know that I'm not alone, though it makes me a little sad. I'm mostly glad someone understands, you know? And the writing does help to take my mind off of other stuff. Thanks for being here for me...and for complimenting my story. This really does mean a lot to me.

To** Zorua Illusion **- I know that feeling, and thanks. I'm hoping things start to get better soon, too.

To **Jess** - If I haven't told you this yet, then I'll say it now. You're a great friend, and I'm grateful you've been here for me and that you care. And thanks for listening to me and reading this story. I love you too!

To **FrostFan** - Yeah, your review came up twice, but that's okay. It showed you cared enough to want it to get through, so I'm happy. ;) Thanks for caring and the compliments, and I'll remember that. And people really ignore your suggestions? I thought your idea was great. It actually helped this story to keep going instead of just staying a one-shot. So thanks for everything.

To **smallvillephantom14** - Yeah, I've wanted to do that too, but if I did, people would flip out. I would tell my mom, but she's been going through a lot and I don't wanna be a burden to her. Once everything calms down a bit, I'll tell her. And my dad does have a temper, so I try to avoid him. He usually works at night and sleeps all day; I was just really unlucky that he was awake when I asked my mom for permission to share this account with Jess. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind. And I'm glad you liked this story, though I doubt it's one of the better ones... But thanks anyway. ;) And thanks for welcoming me to the fanfiction community, and you didn't cross a line or upset me at all. I'm glad you reviewed.

To - Thanks for all the compliments. I hope I get to meet you and all the other reviewers, too; you all sound like amazing people. I hope I can quit for good soon, and with all these awesome reviews I'm sure I'll be able to be happy again. Thank you so much.

Have a great week!


	4. Frustration and Unwanted Memories

Has anyone read JayVinz' "Crimson red on the snow"? I think it's great! :)

~RotG~

Jack was worried about Jamie.

As the Guardian of Fun, Jack wasn't used to worrying. Worrying, being lonely or depressed - these emotions got in the way of having fun. So he'd spent much of his time avoiding them. But when you care about someone and you're not sure they're gonna be okay... It's hard not to worry.

Worry reminded Jack that not everything could be fix instantly. Having fun could help, but it would take time.

Jack was sitting in a tree near his lake with his hood up as he absently rubbed at old scars hidden beneath the sleeves of his blue sweater.

"Why won't he tell me what happened?" Jack asked the moon. The moon didn't answer; Jack hadn't expected one. "What did Pitch tell him?"

The other Guardians were already looking for Pitch, but the Nightmare King had vanished. Both Tooth and Sandy were keeping an eye out for him, but other than the occasional nightmare, there was no sign of Pitch. Jack had been following the nightmares, but none of them dared to lead him to their creator.

Jack sighed in frustration as he leaned his head against the tree, rubbing his arms. The scars hadn't faded much, and he doubted they would go away.

At Jamie's house, Sandy had arrived to find the teen trying to stop the bleeding on his wrists. An exclamation point appeared above his head while Jamie winced.

"Hey, Sandy," Jamie greeted him nervously. "Caught me red-handed, huh?" Sandy gave him a disapproving look as Jamie checked his arms, avoiding the Guardian of Dreams' gaze.

A razor made of sand appeared above Sandy's head with a question mark.

Jamie frowned, confused. "Yeah, I used one." Sandy shook his head and created an arrow. It spun around.

Jamie understood this time; he was reluctant to answer. "I - " He hesitated. "I lost it." Sandy frowned and the arrow spun again, but faster.

The teen sighed and pulled a small black box out of his pocket, handing it over. "Are you gonna throw it away?"

Sandy nodded, and Jamie shook his head. He could always get it back later when the Guardian was gone.

Sandy opened the box, making sure the razor was inside. Closing it, he made a slingshot, and before Jamie could protest or stop him, Sandy had shot it through the open window.

"Hey!" Jamie raced to the window, then looked back at the Guardian. "Sandy, I _need _that!"

Miniature Guardians and Jamie's family appeared with another question mark.

Jamie looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but..." He shook his head. "Sandy, I don't know what else to do."

Sandy created a picture of Jamie with his mom. She was rubbing his back with one hand while holding one of his uncovered, scarred wrists. Another question mark.

Jamie wasn't sure what Sandy was trying to ask him, but he sat down on his bed and let his head fall into his hands and admitted miserably, "I wanna tell her, but I don't want to disappoint her. I don't want to cause her any..." He stopped, trying to think of the right word. _Pain? Discomfort?_ Failing, he gave up and said sadly, "I don't want her to know as much as I wanna tell her."

Sandy patted the teen's arm lightly, avoiding the fresh cuts, and Jamie smiled at him sadly. "Thanks for being here, Sandy," Jamie mumbled as he supressed a yawn. Sandy smiled and left as Jamie laid down to sleep.

Sophie knew something was wrong when Jamie started to walk with a limp again and had smudges on his sleeves that looked suspiciously like dried blood. She managed to tease him into eating, though, so he couldn't have been too bad. Right?

She wasn't so sure.

"Jamie?" Sophie knocked on Jamie's door after dinner, nervously. "Hey, um, I need help...with homework."

"Not now, Soph," Jamie called back, his voice muffled.

Sophie took a deep breath. "It's due tomorrow," she insisted, trying to sound desperate. She hated lying to her brother, but she needed to know he was okay. He needed her now whether or not he knew it. And she was going to be there for him this time.

There was a short pause before he answered her reluctantly. "Alright, but gimme a minute."

_To clean up? _Sophie shuddered at the thought. "Okay."

A few minutes later, Jamie opened the door and let her in. "What is it you need help with?"

"Well..." She hesitated, thinking. "I need to write an essay."

"About what?" Jamie sat down at his desk while Sophie sat on his bed.

"Um, it's for health class..." She bit her lip and brushed a strand of blond hair out of her face. "We're learning about the dangers of certain coping methods."

"Coping methods?" Jamie gave her an odd look and tugged on his sleeve. Sophie noticed but didn't mention it.

"Yeah," she said calmly, hiding how nervous she was. "Like - self-harm. Smoking. Drinking." Jamie relaxed for a moment, then tensed up when she went on. "And cutting. Bruising yourself. Rubberband snapping. Overeating or - or starving yourself. It's complicated."

Jamie stared at her for a moment, then stood up and opened his gift from North. Then he closed it with looks of confusion and annoyance crossing his face.

"What class is it for?" Jamie's voice broke, and he cleared his throat. "Health?"

"Yeah." She lowered her eyes, and Jamie frowned as he realized, _Sophie doesn't have Health yet. _But before he could ask her what was going on, Sophie said suddenly, "Did you know self-harm is usually triggered? And it's always serious in every case, no matter how small the cuts, bruises or how long between each - " She fumbled for a word and found one. " - session, but many people treat it like a joke. Or they say the person's attention-seeking. But it isn't. They're not, but it's easier for people to brush it off with a joke than face how serious it is. Cutting can lead to infections and starving causes your bones - " She was rambling, and she knew it. But she was afraid of stopping now.

"Sophie?" Jamie interrupted her gently, and Sophie stopped instantly. "What's all this _really _about?"

Her voice was soft and fearful. "You tell me, Jamie."

Jamie didn't reply as he stared at his sister in confusion. _She can't know. I've never told her, I've never left clues - _But Jamie knew his sister was smart. She would have figured it out.

Sophie looked up at her older brother as he began to pace. "I saw your cuts. On Christmas Eve. And I heard North and you talking about it."

Jamie's pace faltered then continued as before. "Does Mom know?" He doubted it even as he spoke and sighed in relief when Sophie shook her head.

"No. You were getting better. I didn't think she needed to know if you were getting better." Now Sophie was thinking it was a mistake, not telling their mom.

Jamie paused, looking down at his sister. She looked so worried and sad. _She's only twelve_, he realized, turning away from his sister. _And she has to worry about me. I'm supposed to be the strong one, her role model - _

He froze when a small hand grabbed his elbow firmly and looked at Sophie as she pulled his sleeve up to reveal new cuts among the older ones and the scars.

"Are you gonna stop this time?"

Sophie sounded disappointed but accepting. She knew if the Guardians had failed, then she had no chance. But she wanted to help somehow.

Jamie shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure I can."

Sophie nodded before letting him go. "What triggered it?"

He hesitated. "A bunch of things," he admitted finally, shaking his head, "but it all kept piling up and - " He took a deep, shaky breath as he wrapped his arms around himself tightly. As if doing so would keep him from falling apart again. " - I just... I couldn't handle it.

Sophie hugged her brother and felt her heart break when he didn't hug her back.

Jack was leaning on the wall beneath Jamie's locked window. He was hitting his head gently against the wall, thinking of what to say. Sandy had informed the Guardians that Jamie had relapsed badly. Everyone had agreed that Jack was closest to Jamie and should be the one to speak to him.

"Jack?" Tooth had called when he had started to leave.

"Yeah?"

"I know you don't like to think about it, but...it might help to let him know that you've cut before and that you quit. It might inspire him to stop." She let him go and rubbed his shoulder, smiling at him gently. "We're all here for you two. You know that, right?"

Jack forced a smile. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll get him to stop for good this time."

"Let's hope so," Bunny said, and Sandy gave them a thumbs-up for encouragement.

"No need to hope," North said firmly, to Bunny's annoyance. "Jamie will be fine."

Jack had smiled at them and left.

His cutting had started centuries before. Sometime after realizing he was invisible but before he met any of the spirits. When he thought he was the only one in the world who couldn't be seen or heard. When he couldn't save people because he didn't exist to them, when he was lonely, depressed. When it was hard to have fun because your "friends" often ran straight through you. When Jack was still alone.

He shivered, thinking of the loneliness. Now he had a family who cared and a friend who needed him. He had managed to stop, but that had taken time, patience and support from the Guardians. Now that Jack stopped to think about it... The time he'd stopped...was around the time Jamie had started for the first time.

But what had made him relapse?

Jack kicked the snow and sighed in frustration. _Why won't he tell me?_

A nightmare appeared, and Jack pushed himself off the wall into a defensive position. "Did Pitch send you?"

The nightmare snorted and pawed the ground impatiently. Jack frowned at it. It stomped its feet in annoyance, snorting.

"What do you want?" Jack asked it, slowly straightening. The nightmare glared at him, then raised its head to stare at Jamie's window. Jack shook his head. "You're not getting to Jamie."

A trail of golden sand appeared and went through Jamie's window. Jack smiled at the sand as the nightmare snorted and shook its head. Then it raced away.

_It'll probably try to come back later_, Jack thought. "I'll still be here," he muttered, flying through Sophie's open window. He was startled to see her awake and crying.

"Jack!" she cried as she hurriedly wiped away her tears.

"Sophie? What's wrong?" he asked her, kneeling beside her bed.

"Jamie started again."

Jack stiffened at her words. "So you know about that, huh?"

"Yeah. Me, you and the other Guardians, I guess." _Smart kid_, he thought, sighing.

There was a short pause as Jack tried to think of what to say and Sophie stopped crying.

"Did Jamie tell you?" Jack finally asked, hopefully. _If he told Soph, maybe he'll tell his mom..._ His hope was crushed when Sophie answered.

"Not really." She sniffed. "I just overheard him and North talking about his scars. All I had to do was figure everything else out." She rubbed her eyes again. "Is Jamie gonna be okay?"

"Maybe," Jack said slowly, "if we're there for him and prove that we care. Sophie, has he said anything about what happened to make him start again?"

"No." She made a face and added, "He won't talk about it."

"I can imagine," Jack sighed, thinking of his own reasons. He stood up. "I'll check on him."

"Jack!" Sophie hugged him tightly. "Thanks for helping Jamie before. I hope you can get him to stop again. I don't want my big brother to suffer anymore."

"I'll try my best," Jack promised, hugging her back. "It'll be okay. Soon we'll be having fun again. Just like before."

"I hope so," Sophie mumbled, letting Jack go. Jack smiled at her reassuringly and headed to Jamie's room.

~RotG~

Is it just me, or do Jack and Peter Pan seem similar?

To** EmotionalDreamer101 **- Thanks!

To **Laliwuvsanime3** - I do too, but it's kinda sad, huh?

To **Guest** - I remember you! And thanks, I guess. Not used to strangers telling me they love me, but I love you too! And things _are _getting better, little by little. I'm sad to hear you friend cuts. :( I hope things look up for your friend, too, and I think it's great that you wanna help.

To **smallvillephantom14 **- I remember you too! I tried to PM you, but my phone was being stupid and I've barely gotten to a laptop tonight. I'm feeling bad for Jamie and Jack. They just never get a break! :( I'm glad, too. And Iron Man 3 _was _awesome! Even if I never saw the other two movies or read the comics...

To **Guest **- Thanks, but I'm sad to hear about your best friend. It must've been really bad; I hope things start looking up for her, and it's good that you're trying to help. And it was awesome! Thanks.

Have a great week!


	5. Unlocking the Windows

Hey, FrostFan, is this what you meant? I hope it came out okay...

Also, I'm celebrating one whole week clean of self-harming! ;) Thanks for being here for me, you guys!

~RotG~

Jack paused outside Jamie's door. Did he want to tell Jamie? No. But he had to. Jack had probably made a mistake in not saying anything before, but he could fix things now.

_Maybe_.

He opened the door slowly and saw the younger teen sleeping. He still had no idea what he would say, but he decided he had to tell Jamie _something_.

As Jack moved over to Jamie's bed, he created a snowball in his hands. He smirked as he prepared to throw it. It wouldn't hurt Jamie, but the younger boy would probably be angry when he woke up.

Jamie woke up with a yelp, cold and covered in snow. He shook his head and looked up to see Jack holding another snowball with a mischievous grin on his face.

Jamie glared at him. "That was _cold_, Jack!" he complained. Jack laughed and tossed the snowball from one hand to the other. Jamie noticed and warned him, "Don't even _think_ about it!"

"Aww, c'mon, Jamie," Jack laughed, shaking his head. "This is what you get when you lock your window."

"Is that what this is about?" Jamie grumbled, climbing out his bed. "I close my window to get one night away from you, and you try to freeze me!"

"One snowball," Jack replied as Jamie changed the sheets on his bed and grabbed a new blanket. Jack tossed the snowball at Jamie, who yelped at the cold. "It isn't so bad. See?"

"Remind me not to lock the window anymore," Jamie muttered, wiping off the snow. Jack smiled. "Now I have to change." He glared at Jack and pointed at the door. "Get out."

"No way! You have a bathroom, don't you?" Jack smiled innocently.

"Very funny, Jack - " Jamie began sarcastically, but Jack interrupted him with a cheerful, "Thanks." Jamie rolled his eyes. " - but this is _my _room. Just wait outside for a second, okay?"

"But..." Jack looked around, improvising. "I'm... I'm your guest. You wouldn't kick your guest out, right?"

"I will if they're annoying," Jamie replied as he started looking for clean clothes in his dresser. "And if you had to break into my house - "

"Sophie let me in," Jack corrected him smugly. "_Her _window was open!"

" - or my room," Jamie amended, rolling his eyes with a smile. "Then I'm pretty sure you weren't invited." Jamie moved to the door with his clothes.

"What? Why?" Jack flew over to the door, blocking Jamie's way. "It is because you're jealous of me? Because I'm _cooler _than you?"

Jamie couldn't help it; he laughed at that. "Yeah, 'cause I'm _so _jealous," Jamie teased him, "I locked you out. Now move over, so I can go change."

Jack laughed and let him go. Then he looked around and found North's gift.

He opened the box and saw the markers inside. _At least he still has these_, Jack thought with a smile. He had seen Jamie cover his wrists in writing with markers, and when he heard Jamie hadn't asked for anything from North, Jack had told the other Guardians about the markers. It had seemed to help for a while.

When Jamie walked back into his room, Jack was tracing the designs on North's gift. He realized something was up when Jack looked over at him. "Look, uh..." Jack began hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sandy told us about what happened." It wasn't the best way to start the conversation, but Jack doubted there was really any "good" way to begin a conversation about self-harming.

Jamie sat down on his bed, his head in his hands. "Did he tell you he _literally_ threw away my razor?" he asked jokingly, but his voice broke slightly. The Guardian of Fun didn't laugh, so Jamie sighed and raised his head to look at his friend. "I'm sorry."

Jack took a deep breath as he sat down beside Jamie. "It's okay. We all make mistakes."

"Not like this," Jamie muttered, shaking his head in disgust. "I relapsed. I knew what I was doing, _knew_ you guys wouldn't like it, but I still did it." He paused, then made a face, adding, "It was a stupid reason, too. I was just stressed out. Everything just kept piling up."

"You needed a way to cope with your stress," Jack said softly. "Some people write about it, others draw. North creates toys, Bunny paints eggs, Tooth takes care of memories, and Sandy makes dreams for others."

"That's their jobs," Jamie mumbled, "it doesn't count."

"It's what they enjoy doing, so it's what they do when they need to distract themselves." Jack paused, then added quietly, "It's a way to cope, and you just picked the one that hurts you. We just need to find something else for you to do, and you'll be fine."

Jamie doubted it, so he changed the subject. "What do you do? Design snowflakes? Make it snow?"

Jack laughed. "Yeah, and you bet I have fun doing it!" But Jack's eyes were serious as he tugged at his sleeve nervously. "But...not very long ago..." He pulled his sleeve up to reveal many scars.

Jamie stared at them in shock. "Are - Jack, are those - ?" He stopped, looking up at his older friend.

"I did the same thing as you," Jack admitted ruefully. "I didn't tell you about it before...because I was afraid. I thought you wouldn't listen, or that you would think it would be okay for you to keep cutting. But it isn't."

Jamie stared at his older brother's arm, letting his words sink in. "Why? Why did you - ?" Jamie motioned to Jack's arm helplessly.

Jack bit his lip, looking down. "I was alone. No one saw me, and no one cared. The closest I had to real 'friends' was Sandy and the moon. Sandy wasn't always around, and the moon never talked to me, so...I was lonely. For a long time." He looked back at Jamie, who was upset. "Now I have you, our friends and the other Guardians, and I've been clean for several years."

"Was it hard? Even after you quit?" Jamie remembered it being hard for him, but was it hard for Jack? Jack, the Guardian of Fun, Jamie's role model?

Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah. It was hard. But I got through it. Sometimes it's still hard, but then I think of you and everyone else. You guys...are my family. And I can't let you down now."

"You're making me feel selfish for relapsing," Jamie muttered, embarrassed.

Jack smiled as he patted Jamie's shoulder. "You're not selfish, Jamie. It's okay to relapse. As long as you keep trying to quit afterwards." Jack smiled at Jamie. "Trust me, it's worth it."

"Okay." Jamie looked at him and smiled. "I'll keep trying."

~RotG~

I've decided to try to do a few more chapters, like when Jamie's mom finds out or maybe a scene after Jamie's recovered? I don't know yet what I'm gonna do.

To **HoneyBee11 **- I know what you mean. I'll keep trying. And thanks. She's getting better, so I'm glad. I was really worried about her. And I thought they were similar, but I wasn't sure if it was just me...

To **Depp1987** - I tried to put some fluff in the beginning, but I'm not sure if it worked. I'm thinking of doing one later where Jamie's recovered, so hopefully that one will have a lot of brotherly love fluff. Thanks for sending the suggestion!

To **Laliwuvsanime** - JayVinz is doing something similar to this too. I'm glad you still love it, even though it's sad.

And like always... Have a great week!


	6. To Tell or Not to Tell

So sorry if this chapter sucks. Writer's block and it being midnight didn't help. I might re-write it later.

~RotG~

"What did the Guardians say when they found out?" Jamie asked one day after school while Jack was juggling a few snowballs. "Were they angry? Disappointed?"

"If you wanna know their reactions," Jack said slowly, trying to concentrate, "then you should tell your mom."

"What?!" Jamie jumped up from his bed, his eyes wide. "What does she have to do with any of this?"

"She's your mom," Jack said with a shrug, catching the snowballs, "and the Guardians are my family. If you wanna know how _my _family reacted, then you're gonna have to find out by telling your mom."

"That isn't fair! She's different from the Guardians! Their reactions are gonna be different!"

"How? Give me _one_ difference between them."

"She doesn't have magic," Jamie ticked off the differences with his fingers, "North _likes _working, Bunny's always grumpy, Sandy can't talk, Tooth's hyper, and you're _cool_!"

"Thanks, but I said _one_ difference. Anyway, she protects you as much as she can," Jack pointed out. "Just like we protect all children. She loves you, Jamie. And when was the last time you _really _spent time with her?"

Jamie didn't answer. He honestly couldn't remember.

Jack shook his head_._ "Just tell her. We're all here for you, Jamie. Why don't you let her help too?"

"I don't wanna disappoint her," Jamie mumbled. "She's proud of me, and I don't wanna ruin that."

"Nobody's perfect, Jamie," Jack reminded him quietly. "It's okay to tell her. And if things don't work out, then I'll still be here for you. Me, Sophie and the others. We'll help you to stop, I promise. And then all of this will seem like a bad dream." Jamie didn't seem convinced.

But even Sophie was trying to get Jamie to tell their mom.

As they walked home from a snow day with their friends, Sophie said suddenly, "You really should tell Mom. She would want to know about something like this."

"I don't _want _to tell her," Jamie insisted, rolling his eyes. "I already quit."

"You've been clean for only a few days, Jamie," Sophie pointed out softly. "That's still recovering."

"But I can stay clean this time! I'm fine, see?" Jamie waved his arms around, but Sophie didn't see how that proved anything. "Why should I tell her anyway? She didn't notice before."

"I didn't notice it either, but you told me."

"_You _found out on your own and talked to me about it," Jamie corrected her. "Mom never found out."

"What are you afraid of?" Sophie demanded, becoming annoyed.

Jamie sighed and admitted, "I'm afraid she'll overreact or say my problems aren't bad enough to self-harm. That she'll think I'm ungrateful for everything she's done or that she'll get angry." Jamie stopped, his fists clenched. "I'm afraid she'll think I'm just attention-seeking. That she'll be unsupportive. That whatever she says will make me relapse after just a few days of being clean."

"Jamie, you won't relapse," Sophie assured him gently. "She'll understand - "

"How do you know that?" Jamie asked suddenly, looking lost. _Vulnerable_, Sophie thought, shivering. "What am I supposed to say, anyway? 'Hey, Mom, I've been self-harming since I was thirteen, but don't worry, I'm trying to quit'? And then what? Do I show her the scars she never noticed? I don't think - "

"_You're _the one overreacting!" Sophie snapped, startling her brother into silence. "If _you _don't tell her, _I _will! I'm not kidding, Jamie."

Jamie stared at her in confusion. "Wha - ? It's my choice, and I said no! Just drop it, Sophie!"

"You're my older brother, Jamie, and I'm worried about you!" Sophie cried, stopping in front of him. "Please, just tell Mom - for me. I'm worried about you, and I wanna know there's always gonna be someone there for you if I'm not. I wanna know you have someone you can talk to when I'm not around."

"You mean when you're at a friend's house," Jamie stated with a disgusted sound. "Soph, if you're so concerned, then make time for me instead of just leaving me with someone else." Jamie walked around her while Sophie tried not to cry.

She spun around and yelled after him, "My friends aren't as important as my family!" Jamie paused, not turning around to look at her. "But if I _couldn't _be there for you, if the Guardians _can't _be there, who else would understand and listen to whatever you need to say? I wanna know there's always gonna be _someone_ there for you!"

Jamie finally looked back at Sophie. _She's really serious about this_, he realized, surprised. Jamie hesitated, then sighed and shook his head. _I'll try, but it might not even help me. _"I'll think about it, okay? I don't know what you want me to tell her, though."

Sophie frowned, not sure whether or not to believe him. Then she smiled and ran to catch up to him. "It'll be fine. Don't think too much. Just do it," she told him simply. "If you start thinking too much...it'll rain!"

Jamie ruffled her hair affectionately. "If it rains, there would be more snow."

Sophie pretended to think about it, then she grinned. "Okay, you can think. But only so we can see Jack!" Jamie rolled his eyes and smiled.

He didn't know what he would say or even why he was doing it, but Jamie knew he had wanted his mom to know for a while. When he had first tried to quit, he had considered telling her. But every time they had a moment alone, he had backed out or talked to her about something else.

Jamie decided to tell her soon. He just needed to figure out what to say and when.

~RotG~

Thanks to everyone who's favoriting/following this story (and Jess and me)! You guys are awesome!

To **Zorua Illusion** - Hey, I know you! Thanks!

To **FrostFan **- I'm glad it was okay. I'm been trying to figure out how to fit that into this story. I might make it into a one-shot, though. Thanks!

To **Guest **- Updating isn't a problem, it's writing the ideas that is!

To **Guest** - Thanks! I'm always worried mine isn't good, but everyone seems to like it. Quitting sucks, 'cause I'm so used to using mine when things get bad for me. But I'm getting through it. I'm sure one day you will too. :)

To **pinkittwice54 **- Thanks! I wish I could have a big party, but I'll wait until I get through a whole year. If I can make it to a year. And thanks again!

To **Depp1987 **- I remember you! Deeper? Is that a good or bad thing? And I try my best, but I always manage to leave out a detail or two from each chapter. That's okay, I have one too; I draw on my skin instead of cutting now, it helps. I never knew that! That's really interesting.

To **PessimistGirl **- They yell at you? I'm sorry to hear that. Mine kept teasing me about it, and the same one who told me that I was "so loved" keeps telling me that I have a depressing life. Thanks, I love you guys too!

Have a great week!


	7. Taking Care of Him

Jamie waited until Sophie and his mom were gone before dropping the fake smile and sitting down in the living room with his head in his hands. His fists clenched, and he was trembling. Tears were starting to fill his eyes as he remembered every moment of his bad day. He would _not _cry, even if the house was empty.

_I'm not gonna relapse, I can't relapse now, it hasn't even been a _week_ yet -_

Jamie's thoughts stopped when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

"Just keep breathing," a gentle voice told him helpfully. "Slow, deep breaths. See, that's better. Just focus on your breathing."

_Well, almost empty_, Jamie thought, slightly annoyed. _Too bad it isn't._

"I'm not having a baby, Jack!" Jamie snapped, glaring at the Guardian.

Jack laughed and patted Jamie's shoulder. Then he noticed the anger in his little brother's tear-filled eyes and flew up the stairs to Jamie's room. He was back with North's gift within seconds, handing over the box of markers. Jamie nearly snatched the box out of Jack's hands, grabbed the markers and began to write and draw furiously over his scars. Jack watched while Jamie slowly calmed down and began to doodle quietly.

"What happened?" Jack asked after a long time as Jamie drew a few snowflakes on his wrist.

"Just a bad day," Jamie replied softly, then added, "Sophie went to a friend's house, and Mom had to run some errands." He stopped and looked up at Jack, who smiled innocently. "Did Sophie send you?"

Jack grinned mischievously and held up one of North's snow globes. "They're only for emergencies. So if Sophie thought there was an emergency - " Jack glanced at Jamie's scars and drawings on his wrist. " - then she can always call one of us to watch over you."

"I don't need a babysitter!" Jamie sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm _fine_."

"Good, 'cause I'm the worst choice for a babysitter," Jack commented as he picked up each marker and looked at them carefully. "Where'd the gray one come from?"

"I added it a few days ago." Jamie shrugged. Seeing Jack's curious look, he looked away and mumbled, "For the moon. You guys always talk about the man in the moon..."

"So you believe in the moon now?" Jack smiled at Jamie, who looked embarrassed. "That's cool."

"Go away," Jamie muttered under his breath, taking the markers away from Jack. He put them back in the box while Jack laughed.

"If I went away, you would miss me too much."

Jamie shook his head with a smile. "Yeah, I guess so." He stood up and grabbed his backpack. "I've got some work to do, so try not to distract me."

"Work is boring," Jack said simply. "And I'm the Guardian of Fun. What do you honestly think will happen?"

Jamie paused to think about it and looked at Jack. "I have a bad feeling it wouldn't end well."

Jack shook his head with a serious look. "It wouldn't."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "At least it isn't due until Friday." He grabbed his jacket and shoes, calling over his shoulder, "C'mon, we'll go for a walk. Maybe that won't be too boring for you."

As they walked around Jack's lake, the Guardian of Fun commented lightly, "You look like something's bugging you. What is it?"

Jamie hesitated before blurting out, "When did you start cutting?"

Jack bit his lip as he thought about it. He didn't like to think about the years he spent alone with just a blade and a silent moon for company. _But Jamie's gone through a lot for four years._ Jack pushed the thought away and answered quietly, "A long time ago. A few years after I became Jack Frost."

Jamie didn't want to push it, but he was too curious to pass up a chance to talk to Jack about his past. "How long ago was that?"

Jack shrugged. "I dunno. Back in the 1700s."

"Why?" Jamie had always wondered what could have made Jack start to cut. But he regretted asking when he saw a flash of pain in Jack's eyes.

"I thought I told you before," Jack said calmly, glancing at Jamie. "I was alone."

"But that's not the only thing, is it?" Jamie knew he was right when Jack looked away. "What else caused you to start cutting yourself?"

Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Believe it or not, that _was _the main reason. But...I guess not knowing who I was...helped me to start cutting." Jack paused as he remembered those days. "All I knew about myself was my name and that I was literally invisible to the rest of the world. Anyone who _could _see me was too busy to talk to me." He looked at Jamie seriously. "The first time I met Tooth was when I was chosen to be a Guardian, and Bunny only knew me because of the blizzard of '68. I never saw North, and Sandy was always busy. Only the moon knew I existed, and he never talked to me. I was alone, and I didn't even know who I used to be." Jack's voice became rueful. "And I had to live like that for three hundred years."

Jack pulled up his hood and tapped the staff against the snow-covered ground as they walked. Jamie was quiet for a long time. He didn't know what to say to help Jack feel better. Nothing Jamie had gone through could be compared to what Jack had gone through, so saying he understood was out of the question.

But maybe there was another way to make Jack feel better.

Jack hadn't noticed Jamie stopped walking. But he did when something hit him in the back of his head. "What the - ?" Jack spun around to see Jamie picking up more snow. "What was _that _for?"

"You're depressing," Jamie told him, smiling. "Cheer up!" He knelt down to make more snowballs. Jack just stared at him until Jamie threw another one at him.

Jack dodged it, then grinned as he pulled his hood down. "That's it!"

Jamie managed to dodge the snowball Jack threw and tossed another one at Jack. Jack laughed, easily dodging it. He raced away from Jamie, dragging his staff across the ground. New snowballs appeared as Jack ran around. Jamie blinked, surprised, then he grabbed one and threw it at Jack. Jack whooped and threw one back at Jamie, who didn't move quickly enough to avoid it. He laughed and shook off the snow.

When the two ran out of snowballs and Jamie had needed a break, the two sat down next to the frozen lake to rest. Jack was laughing quietly while Jamie tried to catch his breath. He threw a small handful of snow at Jack with a playful glare. "Quit laughing at me!"

"I'm not laughing at you!" Jack chuckled, shaking his head. "But you've gotta admit, it _was _funny when you fell."

"That hurt," Jamie complained. "_You _try falling on the ice, see how much you laugh then!"

Jack snorted. "I don't fall. The wind never lets me fall." Jamie muttered under his breath. Jack tossed some snow back at Jamie. "What was that?"

Jamie replied loudly, "Nothing, Mother."

"No way you're my son. I want proof!" Jack laughed again and Jamie shook his head. They sat together in silence for a while before Jack looked at Jamie and said suddenly, "Thanks. For cheering me up."

Jamie smiled to himself. "You're welcome." He hesitated before placing his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm glad I met you."

Jack looked over at Jamie, startled. "What?"

"I'm glad I met you," Jamie repeated himself firmly. "You're always there for me. You can always cheer me up on my worst days. You literally chase away the nightmares. You've helped me to quit cutting when I couldn't do it on my own. You're my best friend. So...I'm glad I met you."

Jack stared at Jamie for a moment before grinning. "I'm glad I met you too."

~RotG~

To **AngelXJackFrost **- I'm sorry that happened to you, and I know what you mean. Sometimes everything just sucks. I'm glad you like this story and can relate to Jamie.

To **Guest **- They are, and thanks!

To **Zorua Illusion **- Thanks!

To **Guest** - Thanks for caring, and I've been trying to quit. It's been pretty hard, but I'm getting through it. Thanks.

To **Depp1987** - Yeah, I know. I was feeling the same way about the last chapter! That's why it took me longer than usual to update. I'll have to go and fix it later.

To **Guest **- Thanks. If you didn't like the ANs, you didn't have to read them. I've never meant for them to get pity reviews, but I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I wasn't aware that I was probably annoying people with the ANs. And thanks for the advice about the details.


	8. Treating It Like a Joke

This one's based on a true story.

~RotG~

"Jamie, can you take this to class B110?" The librarian handed him a torn Spanish textbook. "Someone must've left it here on accident," she told him, and Jamie smiled politely. "And thank you so much for helping out."

Jamie took the book as he replied casually, "No problem."

He walked out of the library and headed toward B Hall, passing by the Nurse's office and reading each label carefully. "B106 French 1, B108 Health Science... B110 Spanish 1!"

He knocked on the door and could barely hear the teacher's muffled voice above the teens'. "...pretend you're doing it. Okay? Now... Abre!"

Jamie knocked again, louder. The teacher moved toward the door as he called over his shoulder, "Cierra!" He opened the door while the students closed their textbooks and notebooks. "Corta!"

The teacher looked at Jamie while the students stared at each other in confusion. Jamie held the book out to the teacher as he explained, "This was found in the library. Ms. Reyes said it was from this class?"

"Uh, sir? What do we cut?" Jamie froze at the word "cut" while the teacher turned to answer the student. _Worse timing ever_, Jamie thought with a wince. _Can I just go now?_ But the teacher hadn't taken the book back yet.

"Anything," a girl suggested helpfully as she pretended to cut what Jamie guessed was invisible vegetables.

"Oh, _cut_?" One of the other students laughed and declared smugly, "I can do _that_!" He pretended to cut his wrists while all the other students laughed with him. All except one, who looked uncomfortable with the subject. Jamie himself was shifting uneasily, thinking of his scars hidden underneath his sleeves.

"That isn't funny, Andy!" one of the other students scolded him, but Jamie could hear the laughter in his tone.

Andy laughed and retorted teasingly, "Then why are _you _laughing, Carl?"

Jamie felt sick from the scene in the Spanish class. He looked at the teacher...who was trying not to smile. _Talk about a bad role model_, Jamie thought, disgusted.

"I'm not laughing!" Carl said quickly, but the other teens joined in, pointing out that he _was _smiling.

Jamie glanced at the boy in the corner of the room who wasn't laughing. The boy who was now fiddling nervously with his own sleeves. He looked up and noticed Jamie watching him. The boy dropped his hands and shrugged with a sad smile. Jamie smiled ruefully back at him. _I'm sorry I can't help._ The boy looked down after a moment, closing his eyes and visibly taking a deep breath. Jamie wished he could've done something to help.

"You guys are silly," the teacher told the class with a laugh, then turned to Jamie and took the book from him. "Thank you." He closed the door abruptly in Jamie's face, leaving the teen surprised.

_And he's rude, too_, Jamie thought as he walked back to the library. He couldn't help feeling sorry for the kid in that class. How the kid could get through a class like that, he wasn't sure.

Jamie was lying in bed when Jack flew through the window of his room. Jack instantly noticed the dark mood his friend was in. "Bad day, huh?" he asked gently, sitting beside him.

Jamie sat up in his bed and frowned. "No. Just..." Jamie shook his head. "Just stupid people acting like they know everything." His eyes flickered to the scars on his wrists, still hidden by his sleeves.

Jack noticed and said simply, "It happens."

Jamie's fists clenched as he thought about the Spanish class. "Yeah, I know - and it _sucks_." Jamie thought of the boy who hadn't laughed. _How many scars does he have? What happened to him?_

"Wanna talk about it?" Jack offered helpfully. "I'm always here to listen."

Jamie hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah." He told Jack all about the Spanish class he had gone to and about the boy in the class who had looked upset.

"Did you talk to him?" Jack asked when Jamie finished telling the story.

"No. We're in different grades. I'd never seen him until today." Jamie shrugged and added suddenly, "But I wish I had told him _something_."

"I'm sure he appreciates that you didn't laugh. Sometimes it says a lot more than you'd think." Jack knew from experience that actions could sometimes speak louder than words. He glanced at the drawing above Jamie's bed from years before. After meeting Jack, Jamie had drawn him into the picture. Jack had never asked him about it, but he was grateful that Jamie had taken the time to do something like that.

"It's not just that," Jamie admitted, standing up and pacing. "Everyone was _laughing_ - even the teacher! Why would they think that's funny? Don't they know how _serious _self-harm is? Sophie knows, and she's twelve!"

"Some people don't understand how serious it is," Jack said quietly. "And if they do, they don't wanna be accused of self-harming, so they make fun of it instead."

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard," Jamie muttered under his breath as he sat down again. "Why can't people stop thinking of themselves?" He shook his head. "I bet half of those freshmen wouldn't have laughed if they were in that kid's shoes."

"No, they wouldn't have been," Jack agreed, nodding. Then a thought crossed his mind. He asked Jamie slowly, "Would _you _have laughed if you weren't in his shoes?"

"Of course I wouldn't laugh!" Jamie looked almost offended. "If someone feels so awful they have to cut, it would just make things worse for them if I laughed. It's like - " Jamie paused, trying to come up with a good example. "It's like laughing while someone's getting beaten up - it's just _wrong_."

Jack didn't reply to that. He only hugged Jamie, needing to confirm that the kid in front of him was actually _real_.

"Jack?" Jamie sounded worried, so Jack let him go. Jamie gave him a concerned look when he noticed the sad look on Jack's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jack replied, smiling. Then he stood up and tugged on his sleeves. "Just thinking that you're a good kid."

"Good enough that you had to reward me with a hug?" Jamie sounded torn between confusion and amusement. "Thanks." He frowned and added uncertainly, "I think."

"You're welcome!" Jack grinned at Jamie before looking out the window. "Think it's time for you to go to bed, Jamie."

Jamie glanced out the window to see the trails of golden sand appearing in the sky. He sighed. "I guess so."

Jack laughed and patted his head before jumping out the window. "See you later, Jamie!" he called as he flew away.

Jamie rolled his eyes as he closed the window. _Show-off. _"Good night, Jack."

~RotG~

Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story (and Jess and me). :) You guys are awesome!

To **Zorua Illusion** - Thanks!

To **Guest - **I'm glad you liked it, and it's great that you have someone there for you. :) Thanks!

To **smallvillephantom14 **- I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I've actually never been in a real snowball fight. :( But I'm glad it came out okay.

Have a great week, y'all!


	9. Father Figures

I've been neglecting the other characters... So here's North!

~RotG~

"Jamie! Sophie!" North greeted the Bennets, who had arrived at the workshop through Sophie's emergency snow globe. When North noticed Sophie's heartbroken expression and Jamie's furious one, he asked them kindly, "What is wrong?"

"Our dad came home," Jamie nearly snapped while Sophie winced. "He was angry at us for being too loud, so we came here." Sophie's eyes filled with tears as her older brother went on furiously, "He's been in and out of our lives, and we hardly know him! And what's the first thing he tells us when he gets home?"

"Go hang out with your friends," Sophie mumbled quietly. "I can't deal with you right now."

Jamie shook his head angrily. "If he didn't want us around, he should've stayed away!"

North looked at the two, thinking carefully about the situation and his next words. "Work is stressful," he remarked calmly. "Family is much like work." He clapped his hand decisively and announced, "You need a break." He started to walk away, calling over his shoulder, "Look over here!"

Jamie shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed Sophie and North, falling behind. He had grabbed his markers before leaving the house, but he hadn't used them yet. He wanted to, _needed _to...

But he didn't want Sophie knowing that he needed to cut.

At North's place, it would be easy to get lost... Jamie slipped away and headed off into the opposite direction, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He wandered around on his own for a while before he finally found a quiet place to relax.

It was an empty room with a large window that took up most of one wall. He sat on the window seat and pulled the markers out of his pocket. He tugged up his sleeves and began writing absently on his skin. He was calming down, and after a while he kept drawing just out of boredom.

Nearly an hour went by, and North left Sophie with the yetis to look for her brother. He found the older Bennet drawing on his arms in a corner. As he moved closer, he began to see the scars on Jamie's wrists more clearly. He winced and shook his head. He had seen Jack's scars on more than one occasion, but he knew he would never get used to seeing them on any teen's wrists.

He glanced at the writing and was surprised to see "_I believe in North_" written in red marker. It was an odd feeling, knowing someone wanted to stop something as addictive as cutting because of you. He doubted he would get used to that feeling either.

Speaking of feelings...

"How are you feeling, Jamie?" North asked gently.

Jamie had been so absorbed into doodling on his arm that he jumped at the sound of North's voice, nearly dropping the markers. "North!" Jamie looked up at the older man and stood up, covering his arms again and putting the markers back into his pockets.

North smiled at Jamie's reaction, but he focused on what he thought might be on Jamie's mind. "It is fine if you are angry at your father, Jamie." He didn't add what he was thinking. _Don't take it out on yourself. You haven't done anything wrong._

Jamie winced and lowered his head. "That obvious, huh?"

North nodded. "Very."

Jamie shook his head and looked out the window. "I can't stand him," he admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I almost never see him, and when I do, we're fighting constantly. Mom and Soph hate it, but my dad - " Jamie bit his lip, glaring at his reflection. _Why can't I be the kind of son he wants?_ "We don't have _anything _in common, and it's hard to talk to someone who thinks they're smarter and better than you." Jamie felt the urge to cut again, but he was too wrapped up in his rant to care. "He never listens to what I say, and all he ever says to me is that I'm not good enough, or he just wants me to be like him. But..." Jamie turned away from his reflection, sighing softly. He had tried to ignore the differences between himself and his father, but it was too hard to ignore that the man was the complete opposite of him. "But, North, I don't wanna be like him." He looked up at the Guardian of Wonder, who waited patiently for him to finish. "I just...I just wanna be myself. Does that make sense?"

North nodded.

Jamie kicked the ground. "Then why doesn't he understand that?"

"Sometimes people only see what they want to see," North replied calmly, "and they ignore everything else." He motioned to the snow outside. "What do you see?"

"A lot of snow?" Jamie glanced at North, confused. _What does this have to do with anything?_

"Ah, but Jack would see his own designs." Jamie looked back at the snow, surprised. He had forgotten that Jack designed the snowflakes. He listened intently as North went on. "Bunny would see a nuisance while Tooth would see the color teeth should be and Sandy would see a nice place to sleep. But none of them would notice that it was something Jack worked hard to make perfect."

"What do you see?" Jamie asked him curiously.

North smiled. "I see Christmas."

Jamie nodded slowly, understanding. "Okay, I get it. But...how do you make someone see things the way you do?"

"You can't."

"What?!" Jamie stared at North in disbelief. "But - there has to be some way, right?"

North shrugged as he replied calmly, "You could try, but it might not work."

Jamie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. So how do I deal with my dad?"

"Depends," North began, but then Sophie's voice interrupted their conversation.

"Jamie! Look at this!"

Jamie didn't have time to protest as Sophie dragged him through the workshop. Several yetis had to move out of their way and made disapproving noises, but Jamie didn't notice as he began to relax and enjoyed spending time with his little sister, who was looking at everything with childish wonder.

Once the Bennets had tired themselves out, they found North again, and the three talked until it got late.

"Time to go, Soph," Jamie told her, standing up and stretching.

She shook her head, pouting. "I don't wanna go! You can't make me!" she cried, hiding behind North. North chuckled while Jamie rolled his eyes. "North, don't make me go!"

"Soph, don't be a drama queen!" Jamie scolded her, but he was smiling. She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled as she hid behind North, who was laughing at the Bennets. "C'mon, it's getting late. Mom will be home soon."

Sophie sighed heavily and dragged her feet as she walked over to him. "Fine." She yelped when Jamie picked her up and spun around with her. "Jamie! Put me down!" she giggled, then squealed when Jamie pretended to almost drop her. "Not like that!"

North and Jamie were laughing as the older Bennet let Sophie down. "Ready to go now?" Jamie asked her, trying to stop laughing.

She slapped his arm lightly. "Yeah, I guess so."

When Sophie had gone through the snow globe's portal, Jamie hesitated, then looked back at North. "Thanks for letting us come over, Dad!" he called over his shoulder and stepped through the portal before North could react.

Arriving in his room, Jamie found Sophie sitting on his bed and giggling quietly.

"Happy now?" Jamie asked Sophie, ruffling her hair.

She grinned up at him. "It took you long enough to admit it!"

"Admit what?"

"He's like a dad to you!"

Jamie couldn't deny that. "So? I need a decent father figure in my life." He paused, frowning and added, "And so do you."

Sophie huffed in annoyance and stated seriously, "I have a father figure!"

"Oh, yeah?" Jamie had a feeling he knew who it was when he asked, "Who?"

"Bunny, of course!"

Jamie smiled. "Of course!" he said teasingly. "The giant bunny who _looks _like a kangaroo."

Sophie grumbled under her breath. "You spend too much time with Jack." She sighed and stood up. "At least we both have someone to look up to." Her eyes flickered to the wall where their dad was sleeping on the other side. "He doesn't mean what he says, Jamie."

"Yeah, he does," Jamie said flatly, shrugging, "but I'm used to it."

"Then why do you keep fighting?" Sophie asked tentatively.

Jamie thought about it carefully. "Because...it's what's right," he finally said, looking at her. "I can't just let him push me around." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have a few months until I turn eighteen. Just a few more months."

"You're gonna move out?" Sophie already knew. Jamie had been told several times to "just get out" by their dad, so it had probably been on his mind for a long time. Jamie nodded and Sophie nearly tackled him in a hug. "But I don't want you to go!"

"You make it sound like I'm never coming back." Jamie chuckled softly, but he hugged her back. "And we still have a few months."

Sophie began to cry as she blurted out suddenly, "I love you, Jamie." She felt her brother's arms tighten around her protectively. She hated how he was so protective of her when he had once wanted to destroy his own body because he was suffering.

"I love you too, Soph," Jamie replied softly, and Soph didn't doubt that he meant it.

~RotG~

Not sure if you saw it, FrostFan, but I started a new story (Underneath the Laughter) with your idea - the Guardians' reaction to Jack self-harming.

And this was gonna be posted on Father's Day, but then I found out I would be going to Corpus. So I decided to update today. :) I can't believe I'm already at nine chapters.

You guys are all awesome! Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story. :)

To **Zorua Illusion **- Some people really don't. You're welcome! I try my best. :)

To **AngelXJackFrost **- I'm glad this story could help you. And I really hope things start looking up for you.

To **LaliwuvsanimeX3** - Yeah, it was. Thanks!

To **Guest **- Yeah, some people are. I don't either, but some people seem to find it funny. One of my friends used to write on a piece a paper "I cut myself..." and then would flip it over, and it would say "...a piece of pie."

To **SnowFlower Frost** - Thanks! And you're welcome!

To **JayVinz **- I know you! It _always _does that! I can never keep it too dark for too long, so it ends up fluffy. That's probably a good thing, though. And thanks! I care about you too! And all the people reading this story too.

Have a great week, y'all!


	10. Where Nobody Dies

_"Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay_

I threw my heart into this one for an amazing friend who passed this Friday. May she rest in peace.

~RotG~

Sophie was lying in bed, shaking her phone in frustration. It kept closing the webpage she was on, and she was getting ready to throw it at the wall. She almost did when it suddenly vibrated in her hand and the symbol for a message appeared in the corner of the screen.

She was surprised to see the name of a friend who she hadn't spoken to in a while. The two of them had different classes, but they tried to keep in touch because they had known each other for several years. Sophie checked the text and froze.

_Hey Soph it's Marty._

_*RIP Charlotte Walker*_

Sophie bit her lip and shook her head. _They say crazy stuff all the time, especially Marty_, Sophie reminded herself. She remembered the time Marty told her she had gotten a tattoo and later admitted that it was a joke. _Charlie's probably with her._

But Sophie had a bad feeling as she texted back a casual, _Hey. What happened to Charlie?_ She would pretend it was a joke, it _had to be _-

Her phone vibrated, and Sophie instantly read it. For a moment, she couldn't believe it. She stared at the text in shock, unable to think. "Oh my God," she whispered, her heart stopping. She covered her mouth to hold back a sob as she began to tremble. Tears filled her eyes as she re-read the text.

_She got into a car crash n passed away yesterday I wanted to text u n tell u :'(_

_*RIP Charlotte Walker*_

Sophie wiped the tears from her eyes hurriedly. _This has to be a joke, tell me it's a stupid joke. _But Sophie had known Marty for years, and she would never had went so far with something like this. And why would she say it was Charlie? Why not someone they had seen just that afternoon? Why would it be about someone Sophie hadn't seen in almost a year?

Marty wouldn't lie about something like this. But Sophie wished desperately that she had this time, just this once. She would be angry if Marty replied that it was a joke, but she would rather be angry over a joke than grieving for a friend. She wanted to know her friend was okay, even if it had been a year since they last saw each other.

Sophie had to take a few deep breaths and wipe the tears away before she could reply in a daze. _Oh my God. Charlie from last year? Where did you hear that?_

A minute passed before Sophie could read the reply.

_Yes n her dad._

_*RIP Charlotte Walker*_

Sophie began to cry. What had she expected? A link to a Facebook posting? What was she going to do, check it to see if it was true? _But maybe Charlie's dad posted it somewhere, I could find it_, Sophie thought, but then she realized it wouldn't be a good idea to bother Marty for too much information.

Sophie texted back, _Oh, God. I didn't know that. _After a moment, she added, _Thanks for telling me._

_Ur welcome_

_*RIP Charlotte Walker*_

Sophie's heart broke. She began crying hard, her body shaking from the sobs. She dropped her phone and could only focus on one thought. _Please, Charlie, don't be dead. You can't die._

It took a while before Sophie could pick up the phone and text her mom. _Marty just texted me that Charlie was in a car accident and died yesterday._

Her mom checked the text while at a light. She stared at the text in shock before texting back quickly.

_WHAT! OMG. I'm so sorry. R u ok_

Sophie knew she was supposed to say she was okay, but she really wanted to reply, _No, I'm not okay. I need to know Charlie's okay._

But she didn't text back at all, and her mom texted again. _I'm on my way home._

Sophie burst into tears again as it began to truly sink in. Charlie was gone.

Jamie walked throw the front door, tossing his keys on to the couch and braced himself for a hug. But the hug never came. He frowned as he looked around the living room for Sophie. Where was she? She would _always _race from her room to meet him when he got home from work.

"Sophie?" Jamie called, concerned. He glanced at the time on his phone. It was a Saturday and already eight. Unless his little sister was at a sleepover, she was supposed to be home.

As he walked up the stairs, he called again, "Soph? You here?"

Then he heard a loud sob. "Hello? Yeah?" He stopped, frowning. Was Sophie _crying_?

He raced up the last of the steps and opened his mouth to demand what was going on. But he stopped himself when Sophie sobbed into the phone, "_I don't know!_ All Marty told me was - " Her voice cracked and she sobbed again, not once seeing Jamie standing a few feet away. " - she was in a car accident - and she died yesterday." Jamie stiffened, shocked. _No, not one of Sophie's friends. She can't handle someone dying. _Sophie was taking deep breaths as she covered her mouth and nodded. "Okay."

She hung up and seemed to barely notice Jamie. She hiccupped and managed to say, "Mom's on her way," before she raced to her room, sobbing. She slammed the door and Jamie winced at the sound.

He stood nervously in the hallway, torn between going to be with his sister and his fear of upsetting her more. She obviously wanted to be alone, but Jamie had felt the same way when he first tried to quit cutting. He shook his head at that thought. _She's stronger than that. She won't make the same mistakes as me. _But Jamie wasn't so sure and went to Sophie's room.

He still needed his little sister to help him quit, so now he wanted to be there for her now that she needed him.

Jamie knocked on Sophie's door gently. She ignored him and tried to stop crying. Jamie opened the door slowly and leaned in. "Soph? You okay?"

It was a stupid question to ask, but he had no idea how to help her. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and make her angry. But she didn't seem to noticed Jamie's internal conflict as her muffled, shaky voice replied, "I'm _fine_. Just - leave me alone. Please?"

Jamie didn't want to, but Sophie didn't want him there. He decided to back off and walked out, closing the door behind himself. He stood awkwardly outside her room, each sob sending a sharp pain through Jamie's heart.

He leaned against the door until he heard the car. He went to meet his mom, who asked him quickly, "Where is she?"

"In her room," Jamie answered softly. He hesitated and added, "I - I, uh, heard your conversation." He looked at his mom helplessly. He couldn't help feeling ashamed that he couldn't help Sophie.

She grimaced and hugged her son briefly. "She'll be okay, Jamie," she assured him. Then she released him, sent him an apologetic smile, and went upstairs to see her mourning daughter.

Jamie kicked the ground and sighed in frustration. He heard Sophie's crying intensify and wanted to punch something. When Sophie needed him, he was unable to help. He couldn't do _anything_.

Upstairs, Mrs. Bennet was feeling the same way. She held her daughter close, and they cried together. All Jamie and his mom could do was wait it out. Sophie was heartbroken, and they would have to help her through it.

Jamie sat in the living room, his head in his hands. He had no idea what to do, and he was considering going to see the Guardians' when a buzzing sound caught his attention. He looked up in time to see a blur of colors fluttering around the room. It was moving too fast to see it clearly, but Jamie knew what it was.

One of Tooth's fairies was there to help Sophie feel better.

Tooth had explained how her job worked when she had first shown Jamie several of his best memories to help him to quit cutting. "When anyone - child, teen or adult - needs a special memory to remind them what's worth living for," she had told him gently, "my fairies and I give them their best memories back."

Jamie guessed the little fairy was lost when she noticed him and chirped frantically.

"She's upstairs," he informed her, pointing at the stairs. Already, Sophie's crying had begun to quiet down.

The fairy squeaked and flew up the stairs, and Jamie jumped up and followed her quietly. When he reached Sophie's room, he listened as Sophie said suddenly between sobs, "I remember - she used to _always _call Cupcake a kitty."

Jamie sighed as Sophie and her mom reminisced about the girl who had died. Jamie heard the girl's name - Charlie - and winced. He hadn't particularly liked the hyper girl, but he had been polite to her whenever she had visited Sophie. The girl was pretty annoying, but Sophie had been great friends with her.

"I can't believe she's gone," Sophie admitted tearfully.

"She was very lively," her mom agreed, softly.

Jamie sighed in relief as he walked to his room. Sophie was already starting to feel better. He hoped she would be okay and back to her old cheerful self soon. Her memories seemed to be helping her.

"Sometimes," Tooth had told him apologetically, "my fairies can't get to the people who need their memories in time, and those people lose sight of what's important. And then they lose hope."

"And that's when they start self-harming?" Jamie asked, surprised. It sounded so simple he could hardly believe it. Just because he hadn't remembered something important before - _I started cutting myself._

Tooth had winced and nodded. "Yes." Then she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Jamie. For not being there to stop all of this before it began."

Jamie had tentatively hugged her back. "It wasn't your fault," he had assured her, then added quickly, "And it wasn't your fairies' fault either. Things happen, right? Maybe my fairy got lost or something." He frowned to himself. "Or maybe she was looking for a girl named Jamie instead of a boy."

Tooth had giggled and let him go.

Jamie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. At least Sophie was okay now that she remembered the good times spent with her friend, and she wouldn't be losing hope any time soon with Bunny as her father figure.

Sophie had finally managed to stop crying, but Jamie knew it wouldn't be a good night.

Jack flew through the open window, looking concerned. Jamie glanced at him as the Guardian of Fun asked him, "What's wrong?"

"One of Sophie's friends died in a car accident."

Jack was somber. "Where?"

Jamie shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I don't even think Sophie knows."

Jack bit his lip and frowned at the ground. He had been careful to keep ice off the road this winter, but had he literally missed a spot?

"Did her friend live nearby?" Jack asked him.

"I don't know!" Jamie glared at Jack. "All I know is that Sophie's upset and I can't help her!"

Jack raised his hands in surrender and backed off. Before he could apologize, the fairy from before flew into Jamie's room and landed on Jack's shoulder. "Baby Tooth!" he greeted her.

She squeaked and flew to Jamie, chirping as she bowed her head in what Jamie thought was shame.

"She's apologizing," Jack explained quietly, seeing Jamie's confused expression. "For not giving you your memories back when you needed them."

"Oh. It's fine," Jamie told her, smiling sadly. "Just take care of Sophie, okay?"

She nodded and flew out the window.

Jamie sighed and sat on his bed. Jack patted his shoulder and told him suddenly, "She'll be okay, Jamie. She won't make the mistake we did."

"I'm scared she will."

Jack shook his head. "So am I, but she has you to stop her before she starts. And she's seen what you're going through, trying to quit. And if she _did _cut herself, she has both of us to help her quit." Jack paused, then added, "She won't be alone, Jamie."

Jamie didn't answer, and Jack sighed.

After a while, Jamie's mom entered his room, and Jack left. He had to find Sandy. He would help Sophie and Jamie to have a good night.

Later, Sophie was lying in bed, re-reading the conversation between Marty and herself. She kept hoping that Marty would suddenly text her and announce that it was just a terrible joke. But Marty never did, and Sophie cried until a strand of dreamsand slipped through her window.

Outside, Jack sat on the roof and guarded them from the nightmares.

~RotG~

Sorry for the depressing chapter, I just had to get this off my chest.

To **Zorua Illusion **- Thanks! The colors are what inspired this story. I had found a blue marker one day and thought of Jack Frost. And of course he'll keep in touch with Sophie!

To **Guest **- They're not. And I'm glad it came out fluffy.

To **AngelXJackFrost **- I'm glad you liked it.

Y'all have a great week!


	11. Her Grieving

Sophie's way of grieving was to listen to sad songs that reminded her of her friend.

"It's like cutting for her, right? It helps her to cope," Jack commented suddenly as they listened to the song play from Sophie's room.

Jamie shrugged helplessly. "Mom says it'll make things worse for Soph, but she doesn't listen." He thought about it and added quietly, "But, yeah, I guess it's better than cutting."

"What can we do to help?" _There has to be some way, right?_

"She won't listen to us," Jamie pointed out. "I've tried talking to her, but she just tells me to leave her alone."

"Maybe she'll listen to Bunny? Or Tooth?" The Guardian of Hope wasn't too busy yet, even if winter was almost over.

Jamie frowned. Only Jack knew about what had happened to Sophie's friend. Tooth knew something bad had happened, but she probably didn't know the details.

It wouldn't hurt to tell the Guardians, right? Then Jamie realized that Bunny would probably kill them if they kept something like this a secret. He nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

An hour later, Sophie was sitting in bed, wiping away more tears as another song played.

Sophie pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly as more tears fell. She wasn't really sure why she was listening to sad friendship songs over and over. She just felt...like she _had _to, for Charlie. Maybe it was a kind of punishment, for not talking to her as much as she should've.

Sophie suddenly realized that she didn't want to be alone for much longer.

There was a familiar thump and a soft, "Soph?"

Sophie looked up at the last Pooka, who looked concerned.

"You okay?"

Sophie stumbled off her bed with a sob and hugged Bunny tightly. He was caught off guard but hugged her back.

"I heard what happened. I'm - "

"Don't." Sophie began to cry again. "I don't wanna hear that yet."

Bunny understood, and Sophie knew he would. She had heard about his past through the other Guardians. Bunny would understand the grief she felt the same way Jack could understand how Jamie's suffering.

Bunny picked her up carefully, and she cried into his shoulder, clinging to her dad as the song played on.

Jack leaned against Sophie's locked door and reassured the older Bennet, "She'll be fine, Jamie. She's a strong kid."

Jamie nodded absently, not believing him.

For once, Jack felt like hitting his friend. _Why won't you cheer up? She's fine now, see? She's gonna be okay._ But Jack resisted the impulse.

Instead, he created a snowflake and held it carefully in his hand.

It was almost spring, which meant winter would be over soon. But that didn't mean Jack was going to leave Burgess quietly. He intended to leave the kids laughing and having fun, not sulking and depressed.

"Cheer up, Jamie," Jack told him, then released the snowflake. It wouldn't work on Sophie until she had moved on, but it would work to distract Jamie for a while.

"What - ?" Jamie blinked, then he shook his head. He tried to elbow his friend, but Jack laughed and dodged him.

"C'mon, Jamie, keep up!" Jack flew out into Jamie's room. But Jamie already knew Jack was going outside, so he ran downstairs to grab his jacket and shoes.

Sophie didn't hear the noise - she was sleeping. But Bunny heard them and rolled his eyes with a slight smile.

It was pretty obvious that Jamie was feeling helpless, and the Guardians were worried that he would start cutting again. But Jack was determined to make sure Jamie stayed strong.

Bunny laid the sleeping girl down and tucked her in. Jamie would be fine with Jack's help, he decided. It was Sophie who needed him now.

Jack was hiding in a tree near his lake, tapping his staff against the branches impatiently.

"Jack!" Jamie appeared and looked around. "Where are you?"

Jack made a snowball and threw it at Jamie before hiding in another tree. Jamie stumbled and spun around, trying to see where Jack had gone. He shook his head in amusement. "Coward!" he muttered under his breath, then raised his voice as he shouted, "This isn't fair, Jack!"

Jack landed silently behind Jamie and threw another snowball at him. Jamie yelped and turned around to glare at Jack, who grinned innocently.

"What's up?"

Jamie was brushing the snow off and threw a small handful at Jack. "You tell me. You're the one who dragged me out here."

Jack laughed. "You came out here on your own." Jamie threw more of the snow at him as he added, "You looked like you needed to relax."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "So you... What did you do?"

"I used some magic to make you have a little fun." Jack shrugged. "I've used it hundreds of times before, so don't worry."

Jamie took a deep breath. _Well, it did help. And it wasn't too bad, I guess._

It occurred to Jack that Jamie might not like the idea of magic being used on him without permission. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, "If you're mad - "

"No, it's fine," Jamie told him calmly. "It's your job, right?"

Jack smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, it is."

They both looked at the darkening sky.

Jamie sighed. "Mom's gonna be home soon." As they started walking back to his house, Jamie suddenly declared, "I'll race you."

Jack smirked. "Okay."

"But you can't fly," Jamie said firmly, "and no tricks."

"What? Why can't I - ?"

"Go!" Jamie grinned and took off.

Jack stared at Jamie in shock before grinning and running after him. When he had caught up to his little brother, he yelled at him, "Cheater!" Jamie only laughed.

The two tied and laughed as they walked to Jamie's room.

Jamie checked on Sophie to make sure she was okay. Bunny was gone, and Sophie was sleeping. Jamie smiled and went back to his room, where Jack was looking at the sky with a frown.

"What happened?" Jamie asked him curiously.

"I don't know. Is Bunny still here?"

"No."

Jack groaned. "Great. I guess I have to go. Baby Tooth will stay here to watch over you two. Okay?"

"Where are you going?" The fairy from the other day landed on Jamie's shoulder, and he greeted her with a soft, "Hey."

Jack winked at them. "To Neverland."

Jamie snorted quietly. "That makes so much sense coming from you."

Jack laughed and stepped onto the windowsill. "I'm going to North's, but I'll be back soon. See ya later!" He jumped out of the window and flew away.

Jamie looked at Baby Tooth, who shrugged and chirped.

"I've already _told _him that I don't need a babysitter," he mumbled. Baby Tooth smiled and patted his shoulder.

~RotG~

Can you believe I almost put this thing on hiatus? And Bunny actually appeared! Whenever I try to write his accent, it comes out more Southern. :( So I tried to avoid that.

Thanks for being here for me, you guys, I really do appreciate it.

To **Zorua Illusion** - Thanks, and I'm hoping so.

To **Heiwa no Hato **- I'm glad it helped to make you more aware. I'm always trying to be nice to everyone 'cause you never know what they're going through. And this story made you cry? I'm sorry. But I'm glad the emotions get through.

To **AngelXJackFrost** - To be honest, I wanna cut, but then I've realized my friend wouldn't want that. So I've been using the markers whenever I get a chance. And it really does sum it up.

To **Guest **- I'm sorry about your feels and your heart. :)

To **Jess** - You're an awesome friend, and I know you're right. I remember that too. :) Thanks for being here, Jess, and I'm always here for you too. Don't forget that.

To **smallvillephantom14 **- Thanks for being here for me.


	12. How He Almost Gave Up

Jamie had been procrastinating when it came to telling his mom about how he was trying to quit cutting.

There were a few times that he tried to talk to her, but then he would walk away after forgetting everything he had planned on saying. He had planned for things to somehow work out okay. He hoped she would be understanding and supportive.

It didn't quite work out that way.

Almost two weeks after Sophie's friend had died, Jamie learned the hard way what his mother's reaction would be.

His mom had just gotten home from the store and looked exhausted while Jamie was washing the dishes. He had rolled up his sleeves while she had been gone. Without thinking, he had turned to greet her and offered to help with the groceries.

He started to panic when he saw the odd look on her face. He had seen it once before, when she had found out that Jamie's father was smoking. It was a mix of suspicion and anger that quickly turned to disappointment.

She grabbed Jamie's arm and turned it roughly around, so she could see it better. Jamie became very still, terrified of what she would think or say.

_Please don't be angry, please don't be angry, I'm so sorry, please don't be angry._

Her tone was cold and sharp. "What is this?"

Jamie lowered his head in shame and hated himself. _How did I make such a stupid mistake? _

The new scrapes on his arm weren't even from cutting, but the scars around them were enough to make her assume that they were.

"What did you use?" she demanded angrily.

Jamie remembered the razor blade he'd used and knew she would have been furious to know about it. Without thinking, he lied, "Scissors. I - I used scissors." He tried to stay calm but didn't dare look at her. He had wanted to tell her when he was ready, not have her suddenly find out this way. And definetly not now.

She didn't even ask why he had started cutting. She told him sternly, "I want everything sharp in your room taken out."

Jamie nodded quickly.

"This isn't acceptable, Jamie," she said sharply. Jamie tried not to flinch as she went on. "Not in my house. I don't want to see anything like this ever again. Do you hear me?" He nodded silently, still avoiding his mom's gaze. She held him for a moment longer before releasing him, shaking her head in frustration. I know you're upset for Sophie, but she needs to know that we're being strong for her. Okay?"

Jamie felt like he had ran into a wall. _Upset for Sophie? That's what you think this is about? _He didn't want to hear anything else, so he just nodded again numbly. He didn't want to be having this conversation; he had been hoping she would never have to know about it. He just wanted to run away and never have to deal with his mistakes.

The mistakes that were imprinted on his body forever.

His mom sighed and went to put away the groceries.

Jamie finished washing the dishes and retreated quietly to his room. He knew Sophie needed him; he knew he needed to be a good role model for her. But did his mom have to throw it in his face?

And the new cuts weren't even from cutting himself. He had fallen a few days before while walking with Jack. But his mom had seen the older scars and assumed that the newer cuts were the same as the scars.

He decided not to correct her. He wasn't sure why he didn't. He just wasn't ready to tell her the truth. At least his dad wasn't there to yell that Jamie was trying to get attention.

Jamie began pacing in his room, his anger and embarrassment growing.

_She doesn't want to see them? Fine. She won't, never again._

Jamie glared at the door. And he decided to prove it. He nearly growled in frustration as he turned his room upside down, searching for something sharp. He was almost five months clean, but it didn't occur to him what he was going to throw away. Just as Jamie had found some scissors, there was a voice sharper than any blade he had ever used.

"Jamie!" Jack snatched the scissors out of Jamie's hands and tossed them onto the bed. "What were you _thinking_?"

The Guardian of Fun had arrived to warn Jamie to watch out for Pitch when he had his friend about to relapse.

Jamie winced at Jack's tine and tried to back up, but Jack grabbed his arm and held him in place.

"Let go!" Jamie snapped, trying to get away.

"Don't you have _any idea _what you were about to _do_?" Jack's gripped tightened, and Jamie hissed in pain. "You're better than this! Whatever happened, it isn't worth cutting!"

Jamie wasn't sure what was worst - the self-hatred or the anger and embarrassment he felt at how his mom had treated him. He had been cutting for _three years _and when she finally noticed -

It was all too confusing, and Jamie didn't want to deal with it anymore. He just gave up fighting against Jack. Jack's grip loosened slowly, and he suddenly tugged his little brother into a tight hug.

"What were you _thinking_, Jamie?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. But his body trembled, and Jamie felt guilty for getting his friend so worried.

He swallowed hard and admitted, "I wasn't thinking." He took a deep breath and hugged Jack back. "I'm sorry."

Jack finally managed to control his own emotions and released Jamie. "What happened?"

Jamie hesitated. "She found out," he said quietly, looking at the floor. "My mom asked me to do the dishes, and I had pulled my sleeves up. I forgot all about it - she was going to the store, and she wouldn't be back for an hour or more. But she came home early and saw these - " He held up his arms to show his injuries from a few days before. " - and overreacted." Jamie told him about their conversation, never once glancing at Jack.

Jack winced. He had thought Jamie's mom would have tried to understand, or at least work through things with him. Or even ask a few more questions about the scars! Why had she assumed that it was because Sophie's friend had died? Jamie had hardly known the girl, so why would he start cutting over her death when he would have seen perfectly fine to his mom before?

Jack had more reason to want to cut over the girl's death than Jamie did.

"Well," Jack said with a heavy sigh, "now we know how she reacted."

Jamie didn't reply as he sat down on his bed. He felt drained from everything that had happened. He just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

"Jamie!" His mom's voice was slightly muffled but still sharp and demanding.

Jamie groaned and stood up. "Yeah?" he called wearily. He looked at Jack, who smiled reassuringly.

"I'll be here," Jack said simply.

Jamie took a deep breath and went downstairs to see what his mom wanted.

She looked up at him as he entered the living room with a serious expression. "I don't want you in your room unless you're going to sleep." Jamie tried to protest, but she interrupted him. "This is what happens when you - " She mimicked cutting, and Jamie felt sick as he remembered Andy in that one Spanish class. "You get supervised." She frowned at Jamie as he sat down beside her on the couch and added under her breath, "You always say you don't like attention, but then you do stuff like this."

Jamie didn't reply and glanced at the staircase as his mom started a movie. _I hope he knows it's okay to come down._

Sophie was spending the night at a friend's house, and Jamie didn't want to face what his mom would say alone.

Jack eventually joined them and sat on the armrest beside Jamie, who was grateful to know he wasn't alone.

His mom didn't mention anything until after the movie had ended. "Jamie, we have to be strong for Sophie," she told him gently. "If something's wrong, you can always talk to me or your dad." Jamie had to bite his tongue as he remembered the last time he had tried to talk to his dad. "Whatever is going on, you can tell us. We can't deal with it if you don't talk to us."

Jamie had no idea how to respond. There was the perfect opportunity to confess what had been going on, how he had felt and how he had been cutting for three years.

When Jamie didn't speak, Mrs. Bennet sighed. "If your dad sees - " She made the cutting motion again, and both teens hated it. " - this, he will be upset. Maybe a little angry. But it will hurt him more. It hurts me too, knowing you're suffering."

Three years of cutting, and you're barely noticing?

He shivered as he remember his conversation with Sophie from months before. _"What do you want me to tell her, Soph? Show her the scars she never noticed?"_

Jamie was tempted to, just because he had no idea how to make his mom understand that she had it all wrong.

But he didn't. He wasn't ready to, and he still wasn't sure what to say.

Jack didn't say anything.

Once Jamie was finally allowed to go to bed, Jack followed him to his room. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly, startling Jamie. "I thought she would be more...understanding."

Jamie shrugged and sat down on his bed. "She wants to understand, but I don't know where to begin." Jamie shook his head and looked at Jack. "What am I supposed to do?"

Jack tossed his staff from one hand to the other as he thought about it. "Try to talk it out, I guess. Tell her everything you told me."

Jamie sighed and shook his head. "It isn't that simple, Jack." Seeing Jack's disbelieving look, Jamie said quietly, "I'll think about it."

Jack patted his head and told him kindly, "Just get some sleep. We'll deal with all of this tomorrow. Night, Jamie."

"Night, Jack." Jamie yawned as Jack went to sit on the roof.

~RotG~

Sorry if this one didn't make much sense. It's mostly through Jamie's point of view, so his thoughts and emotions were all mixed up. Poor Jamie and Sophie. :( Also, does Jamie's mom have a name? Her and Jack's sister don't, right?

Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story!

To **ToxinAngel969 - **I'm sorry about your heart. And thanks!

To **Guest **- That's how it was for me too, after I found out about my friend. Then I spent a lot of time with my other friends, and I think we're all getting through it. I might include a chapter where it just focuses on Sophie and her friends or her and Jamie.

To **AngelXJackFrost **- Thanks. I wish I could help. If you ever wanna talk, I'll listen. :) It doesn't snow very often where me and Jess live. I think once every few years? And then it just melts when it hits the ground. :( And it probably was a blessing from him.

To **smallvillephantom14** - Yeah, we did. And I feel bad for Sophie too. And things are getting better. :)

To **Zorua Illusion - **Accents are difficult. And he's really cool, huh? Yeah, that's true. Thanks!

To **Guest** - Thanks for the heads-up, but aren't there a lot of songfics? I've seen some from years ago, but I changed it, just in case.

Y'all have a great week!


	13. How the Guardians Reacted

Underneath the Laughter summarized. :) Happy 4th of July!

~RotG~

Mrs. Bennet never mentioned what happened, and Jamie stayed out of his room as often as possible for the next few days. But eventually his mom stopped demanding where he was going every time he went upstairs, and Jamie wondered if that meant she trusted him again.

For some reason, it bugged him that he couldn't tell.

"So Mom knows?" Sophie asked him about a week later. Their mom was still at work while Jamie had the day off. "What did she say?"

"Wait, how'd you know that?" Jamie looked up from his notes. He had been studying for an exam in the living room all day.

"Lucky guess?" Sophie shrugged it off. "Does it matter?" It wasn't hard to tell when their mom told Sophie not to leave Jamie alone for too long. _I'm not his babysitter._

Jamie let it go and lied. "She didn't say anything."

"Really?" Sophie sincerely doubted that.

"Yep," Jamie replied calmly, looking at his notes again.

"You're a liar," Sophie stated flatly. "What'd she say?" She paused, then added, "What did you say?"

Jamie hesitated. "I - well, it was kind of an accident." He explained what happened, but he made sure to leave out the part where he had almost relapsed.

"What? Where was I?" Sophie sounded furious, but Jamie didn't look up from his work. He had already gotten over what had happened.

"You were with your friends." Jamie was still glad about that. Sophie had returned home the next morning in a better mood and had even stopped listening to depressing music. Whatever her friends had said or done, it had cheered her up. He hoped it meant that she was moving on. "It's fine though."

"She shouldn't have said any of that. And that cutting thing - that seems kind of insensitive." Sophie looked up at the ceiling. "Does Dad know?"

"No." Jamie shuddered. "He would've killed me."

"He wouldn't," Sophie said firmly. "I wouldn't let him."

Jamie smiled at that. Sophie had their father wrapped around her finger and received the most love._ Daddy's little girl_, Jamie thought, but he knew Sophie hated being called that.

Sophie hugged him. "I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly, then released him.

"For what? Nothing happened." It was a close call, but Jack had been there for him. "I'm okay."

"But it must've been scary." "_Scary_"didn't cover what she meant. She had no idea what it was like for Jamie to have their mom's disappointment directed at him like that. Jamie was more close to their mom than their dad, and it meant a lot to him to know that she was proud of him. To have her disappointed in him and possibly even angry had to have hurt Jamie more than anything. Jamie could handle being yelled at by their father, but having his mom disappointed was something else entirely. "What did Jack say?"

Before Jamie could answer, there was a knock on the door. The two stared at each other before Sophie gently shoved her brother in the direction of the door. "You're the adult, you answer it!"

When Jamie got back, Jack was in the living room with Sophie. "Was that you at the door?" he demanded, annoyed.

"No," Jack replied innocently while Sophie was trying not to laugh. "Of course not."

Jamie grumbled under his breath. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't stop by anymore?" Jack asked, looking hurt.

"It's already spring," Sophie pointed out lightly.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "So? Doesn't mean I can't stop by...right?" They all looked at each other, not sure what to say. Jack sighed. "Never mind." He tapped his staff against the floor, where a thin layer of frost formed fern-like patterns.

"Sorry, but we're worried about you," Sophie said apologetically. "You won't get sick from the heat?"

Jack grinned. "Nah, I'm fine." He looked around. "Your mom's not here?"

"She's at work," Jamie informed him

"And your dad?"

"He's asleep upstairs," Sophie said with a shrug.

Jack was quiet for a moment. "Hey, Soph? How would you react if you found out your son was cutting himself?" Jamie gave him a look, but Jack ignored it.

Sophie thought about it. "I don't know. I would probably panic, but I'd still wanna help him."

"So we can cross 'panic' off the list," Jamie stated dryly. "But I doubt Mom's gonna help."

"You might have to give her time to calm down," Sophie advised him softly. "She wasn't expecting that."

"And what happens after she calms down?" Jamie stood up and walked away.

Jack went on with his questions. "What if you found out your son had been cutting himself for years?"

Sophie shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you have a less biased view than us," Jamie answered, smacking Jack on his shoulder. "She's only twelve, leave her alone."

"Sorry!" Jack raised his hands in surrender. "I forgot."

"How's my 'view' less biased than yours?" Sophie asked, ignoring their bickering.

"Because you've never self harmed," Jack said casually. It took Sophie a moment before she realized what he meant.

"Wait - when did you - ?" Sophie stared at Jack in shock. "Really?"

Jack paused before saying vaguely, "It was a long time ago."

Sophie hit Jamie with a pillow a few times when he sat on the couch. "You didn't tell me!"

"Hey!" Jamie tried to grab the pillow while Jack chuckled. "Soph - Quit it!" He finally tugged the pillow out of her hands. "Thank you!"

Sophie stuck her tongue out at Jamie, who threw the pillow at her. She huffed and glared at him. "So when were you gonna tell me?"

"Never, because I quit years ago. It doesn't matter anymore."

Sophie couldn't imagine Jack self-harming. He was always so cheerful and joking around, laughing at every dumb joke and prank. _Why would he do that?_ she wondered, sighing._ But then again, Jamie used to cut himself too._

"Hey, did you ever wanna cut for no reason?" The words were blurted out suddenly. Jamie looked guilty for saying them, but Jack didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah. Why?" Jamie didn't answer and just shrugged. Sophie and Jack caught on instantly. Jack rubbed his arms absently, thinking of the old scars. "Oh. You know, it's okay. A lot of people are like that. But it gets better, eventually."

"It's just annoying," Jamie admitted. "Kind of like an itch you can't scratch."

Sophie began uneasily, "Have you - ?"

"No." Jamie said it firmly, and he seemed to be telling the truth.

But Sophie still worried. "Okay." Jack saw Sophie scoot away slightly. "I just wanted to make sure."

They were all quiet for a moment before Jamie asked Jack, "So when are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Jack promised to tell me how the Guardians reacted to him self-harming." He looked up at Jack. "You said you'd tell me when my mom found out."

Jack thought about it. "It's complicated." Sophie still couldn't imagine Jack self-harming, but she was curious about what the Guardians would have said. Jamie just waited patiently.

Jack leaned forward slightly and began explaining what happened. "I had told Sandy, but Baby Tooth found out on her own - "

"Who's Baby Tooth?"

The older teens stared at Sophie. "Right, Sophie never met her," Jamie said after a moment. "She's your fairy."

"I have a fairy?"

"She's the fairy who gives you your memories," Jack corrected them calmly. "I don't know how she found out, but she told Tooth. And Bunny found something I'd been using after we were fighting one day. North found out from them."

"What happened with Sandy?" Jamie asked. The Guardians of Dreams had given Jamie good dreams, but what did he do for Jack? Jack rarely slept.

"I told him how I was trying to quit, and he gave me this." Jack pulled a chain of frosted ice from underneath his sweater. A small golden butterfly hung from the chain.

Sophie reached out to touch it, but she jumped back when the butterfly's wings suddenly began to flap slowly. She smiled at it and looked up at Jack. "Did you make the chain?"

"Yeah," Jack said proudly, grinning. "It took a while, but I finally got it." He placed the chain and it's charm back under his sweater, where it stayed cold. "I asked him not to tell anyone."

"And that's it?" Sophie asked, puzzled. "He didn't say anything."

Jack thought about the girl with the butterflies and her broken family. He had often gone to check on her since then, and he had eventually found out that there was another form of self harm she used. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. He just accepted it and promised to help me quit."

"Kind of like you," Jamie reflected, smiling slightly.

Jack hadn't thought of it that way before. "I guess." He took a deep breath. "I didn't know when Tooth found out, but she decided to talk to everyone else before confronting me about it. But it didn't work out that way."

"What happened?"

"Me and Bunny started arguing and he found..." Jack bit his lip. "He found my blade."

Jamie winced sympathetically. "Oh."

"That's a bad thing? But I thought you wanted to quit?" Sophie pointed out.

Jack nodded. "But I didn't want them all to know! And how Bunny found out was like the way your mom found out about Jamie. I was lucky he apologized instead of yelling at me."

"Wait, Bunny _apologized_? He knows how to?"

Jack grinned at Jamie. "I guess so."

"Hey!" Sophie gave the boys a stern look. "Bunny isn't _that _bad!"

"Has he ever apologized to you for anything?" Jamie asked her.

"He never had to," Sophie said simply, "because he's always nice to me."

"That's because he likes you," Jack replied, "and we never got along."

Sophie dropped the subject. They weren't going to agree on anything. "What'd he say when he found out?"

"At first he had no idea what to say, but then he apologized and said they were there for me. I didn't believe him, and I took off." The sound of Mrs. Bennet's car caught their attention. "Oops. I should probably leave now..."

"No!" Sophie exclaimed while Jamie sighed. "What about North? How'd North react?"

Jamie shook his head. "He isn't gonna tell us, Sophie. Look, Mom's here, and she'll think we're insane - "

"I don't care!"

Jack laughed as their mom walked in. "I'll see you later!" The Bennets had to stop themselves from waving goodbye. Sophie managed to turn her wave into a greeting for her mom while Jamie pretended to be scratching his head.

Sophie followed her mom into the kitchen to help cook dinner while Jamie tried to concentrate on studying. But then he started thinking about Jack's story. _So he told Sandy, and Baby Tooth told Tooth. But how did she find out? And Bunny found out after an argument, and everyone else told North. But how would North react?_

Sophie wandered back into the living room after a while. She wondered if her mom was worried about Jamie, or if she really thought Jamie had cut himself only once. Jamie was getting his notes together when Sophie picked up the pillow from the couch and hit him with it again.

"Soph! Quit it!" He tugged it out of her hands and held it out of her reach. "Do you _have_ to keep doing that?"

"I'm bored," she said simply. She noticed Jamie's sleeves were pulled up slightly and had to ask. "Hey, I have a question."

"What is it?" Jamie was moving toward the staircase, so Sophie followed him.

"You said you've been wanting to cut again but you didn't have a reason." She took a deep breath. "And I noticed that you don't carry the markers around like you used to. I was just wondering why."

Jamie paused on the first step of the staircase. "I haven't relapsed." He looked at her with a slight frown. "I just wanted to test something."

"Like what?"

Jamie sighed. "It's nothing, Soph."

"So tell me." _Stubborn kid_, Jamie thought, but he smiled. "Do you still write on yourself?"

"Sometimes, but... I don't wanna depend on the markers forever. I just wanna know I'm strong enough to resist cutting without having to replace it with something else." _I don't wanna be like this forever._

Sophie noticed how tired Jamie looked and realized that her brother had changed a lot over the last year or so. "You're already strong," she said suddenly, surprising her older brother. "You're strong for being able to go several months without cutting and then trying again when you relapsed." She patted his shoulder and grinned at him. "It'll be okay. Me, Jack, and the Guardians - we're all here for you. And I'll always be here to help you quit."

Jamie stared at his little sister before he hugged her. "Thanks, Soph."

~RotG~

Sorry this one's so late. I didn't realize how hard it would be to work on three different stories at once.

Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story! :)

To **Zorua Illusion **- I think I've heard that before.

To **Guest **- I'm sorry. :( It was a pretty sad chapter.

To **LaliwuvsanimeX3 **- Hey, I remember you! Yeah, I know. I'm planning on doing a chapter with Jamie's birthday, so hopefully that one will come out less depressing...

To **Guest **- Oh. Thanks, and I'm not that kind of person. It isn't easy. Wow, that sounds sad.

To **AngelXJackFrost **- You're welcome. :) And I'm sorry. My mom had acted like Jamie's mom too.

To **The Silver Light **- Yeah, that's self-harm. I don't think it matters how deep it is or if it doesn't bleed because self-harm is defined as hurting yourself on purpose. Whether or not you're attention seeking is something you'd have to figure out for yourself. But if you tell someone, they might not be very understanding (like Jamie's mom). If you just wanna talk to someone about it, I'm always here to listen. :) I'm glad you like the story.

To **sarafine-ecleips **- It could. I just meant it to be a habit, though. But I hadn't thought about it that way. Yeah, she was kind of harsh. :(

Y'all have a great week! :)


	14. His Birthday

Sorry it's so short. :)

~RotG~

"Hey, Jamie!" Pippa caught up to the older teen after school and held out a present to him with a grin. "Here, before I keep it."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Jamie told her, forcing a smile.

"Well, in that case, I'll take it back." She started to pull the gift away teasingly, but Jamie just shrugged. Pippa frowned at Jamie's odd behavior. _Don't tell me he's being depressed on his birthday. _"What's wrong?"

Jamie blinked, then sighed. "I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking?"

That caught Pippa's attention. "Who else asked?"

"Soph, Mom, Jack...even Cupcake asked."

"Jamie, what's wrong?" Pippa demanded, but Jamie only shrugged it off. "If you don't tell me - "

"It's nothing!" Jamie insisted, then lied. "I'm just tired."

Pippa wasn't sure whether to believe him, but she held out the gift to him again. "So why do you look so sad?"

"Why are you so interested?" Jamie took the gift from her and started to unwrap it.

"Four other people are worried about you, and you're asking why I'm so interested?" Pippa shook her head.

Jamie stared at the box for a second then looked up at her. "A board game?"

"You know, it's rude not to say thank you," Pippa reminded him, smiling.

Jamie laughed and nodded. "Thanks, Pip." He hugged her. "Do you know if anyone else is getting me something?"

She shook her head and elbowed him gently. "If I did, I wouldn't tell you." She looked up at the sky. "Isn't it too hot to be wearing long sleeves?"

"Didn't have anything else to wear," Jamie replied instantly.

Pippa frowned. "You'll get heat stroke one day, Jamie."

"I'm fine," he replied, and Pippa was sure he was lying this time.

She walked with him for a few minutes before commenting, "Now that you have a board game, you should invite us all over." Jamie looked at the ground and didn't say anything. Pippa took a deep breath. "We're all worried about you. We haven't seen you in a while, and whenever we do, you look...tired." She hesitated and added, "Jack said you were having some personal problems."

"That gossip," Jamie muttered under his breath. Pippa grinned. "I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

"Nobody's around," Pippa pointed out. "Why can't you tell me now?"

"I'm not ready to talk yet," Jamie said quickly, and Pippa let it go.

"Okay. So I'll see you later?"

Jamie nodded. "Sure. And I guess...go ahead and tell everyone to meet up at my house."

"Great!" Pippa started to walk away, but then she remembered something. "Wait! What about your dad? Is he working tonight?"

"Yeah. Tonight, tomorrow night, pretty much every night." Jamie shook his head. "So it's safe for you guys to come over."

"'Kay." Pippa walked away.

Jamie sighed in relief and started walking home with the board game in hand. It wouldn't be easy to tell them. What was he going to say?

When he got home, he found cupcakes on his desk with a note, which said _Happy birthday, Jamie!_ It was unsigned, and Jamie couldn't recognize the handwriting.

He picked up one of the warm vanilla cupcakes, which had light purple frosting with red and blue sprinkles. He bit into it hesitantly and was surprised by the melted chocolate at the center. It took him a few moments to realize who'd made it. He smiled and ate the rest of it slowly.

Sophie knocked on Jamie's door and walked in. "Mom wants to know if you want a home-made dinner or - cupcakes! Can I have one?" she asked hopefully.

Jamie laughed and nodded. Sophie took one and noticed the design. "Who made these?"

Before Jamie could answer, Baby Tooth flew into his room, carrying a folded note. She handed it over with a cheerful chirp, and Sophie stared at the small fairy in awe. "Is this Baby Tooth? She's so pretty!"

The fairy chirped and blushed, and Sophie giggled as Jamie read the note.

"Hey, Soph," he said, grinning, "call Pippa and tell her we're having a change of plans."

Sophie and Baby Tooth looked at each other. "I'm afraid to ask what those plans are," Sophie finally said, and Baby Tooth nodded in agreement.

Jamie waved off her concern. "We're going to North's tonight. Be ready by ten."

_At least it's a Friday_, Sophie thought as she pulled out her phone and walked out of Jamie's room. Baby Tooth left as Jamie headed downstairs to look for his mom.

"Hey, Mom," he greeted her, but stopped when he saw his dad. "Hey, Dad." _What's he doing here?_

"Happy birthday, Jamie," his mom said with a warm smile, and Mr. Bennet seemed to echo his wife's greeting. "What do you want for dinner?"

"I forgot to ask him!" Sophie entered the kitchen, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry!" She smiled at Jamie, who looked a little lost. "Do you want a home-made dinner or do you wanna go to that one pizza place you like?"

"Oh. The second one?" Jamie winced slightly at his questioning tone. _Just shut up, don't say anything else - _

"Go get dressed," Mrs. Bennet told them, and the two raced out of the kitchen before their dad could say anything.

Sophie waited until they were in front of their rooms before saying anything. "He's in a good mood."

"It's kind of scary, right?" Sophie smiled, and Jamie laughed. "Don't forget about the party tonight."

She shoved her older brother into his room. "Just hope we make it through dinner."

"Right," Jamie said, nodding seriously. "And if Dad gets angry - "

"I'm going to run away, and you can deal with him," Sophie interrupted him, then hid in her room.

Jamie rolled his eyes. "You're a great little sister, Soph!" Jamie called through her door.

"I know!" He heard her giggle and shook his head.

Dinner wasn't as tense as the two had expected, though there was one time when their dad had gotten angry at the cashier for something. Jamie and Sophie just stood away from him until he had calmed down and went back to his good mood. Mr. Bennet and Jamie managed a small, civil conversation, but Jamie was mostly relieved that nothing he said was causing any problems and ignored anything his dad said that was offensive.

After they got home, Jamie and Sophie headed to Jack's lake. "Do you think he'll be at North's? It's been a while since we saw him."

"I hope so." Jamie looked around, but he knew Jack wouldn't be back for a while. "I talked to Mom about moving out. She says it's okay, but she wants me to wait for a while."

"Why? I mean, I don't want you moving out either, but..." Sophie trailed off.

Jamie shrugged. "I don't know. Something about getting a better job first." Sophie looked up at her brother, but he didn't say anything else about it. "C'mon, let's go home."

Sophie followed her brother home and looked back at Jack's lake. _I wonder where he is now._

Jack was at North's, helping the Guardians and yetis set up. "Imagine what Sophie's Sweet 16's gonna be like," Jack told Phil when the yeti had a break. The yeti looked terrified by the idea. Jack laughed and flew away. "Hey, North! What time did you tell them?"

"Ten!" the Russian shouted above the noise. "Where is Sandy?"

Jack landed on the globe and looked around for the golden little man. Sandy waved his arms, and Jack pointed at him. "He's over there!"

Jack looked around for Bunny, who suddenly jumped out of a tunnel beside him. "Remind me why we're doing this?" Bunny asked him suddenly. "Not being rude or anything, but - "

"Bunny!" North yelled, and Bunny scowled slightly. "Get over here!"

Bunny muttered something under his breath before summoning another tunnel and hopping in. Jack shook his head and looked around for Tooth, who was still talking to her fairies. An elf was nearly stepped on by a yeti, who grumbled at it. Jack smiled and tapped his staff on the ground, where ice appeared and made the floor slippery. He flew to another part of the room when a few yetis tripped.

"Jack Frost! Wait until the party starts before you play pranks!" Jack grinned and looked up at the older Guardian, who was trying to look stern but was failing. "Until then, no more tricks!"

"Okay, okay!" Jack raised his hands in surrender. "No more tricks."

"Make yourself useful!" Bunny told him as he stepped around an elf to reach them.

"You should get him a gift," Tooth added. Sandy nodded in agreement.

"We're at North's!" Jack replied calmly. "He can just choose his gift!" He got four disbelieving looks and sighed. "Fine. But first I'll go to Burgess and get our friends. They should be here before Jamie and Sophie." Jack couldn't help freezing an elf before flying away.

"That boy," North said, shaking his head. "Always getting into trouble."

"You're the one who lets 'im get away with everything," Bunny told him disapprovingly, then disappeared into a tunnel. Tooth and Sandy grinned and had to agree with Bunny.

~RotG~

I usually update two stories, but sometimes I don't have enough time. So if I'm taking forever, I'm sorry. Also, I'm not sure I mentioned this before, but I've been clean for over a month now! :)

Thanks for everyone who's favorited/following this story! :)

To **Zorua Illusion **- Yeah, thanks! :) Did you mean North?

To **AngelXJackFrost **- Glad you liked it. :) I'm halfway through summer vacation now. I get triggers from my family more than my friends, but I know what you mean. And that's great! :) I'm hoping everyone's doing okay too.

To **Guest **- I'm glad you liked it. :) I had to update that chapter before this one.

To **Revolving Core Alchemist **- Thanks! :)

To **Scones Of Rage **- Thanks!

To **royiza4ever **- I was actually going to take most of the author's notes off. I'm sorry to hear they cut. I hope things get better for them, and it's great that they have a friend like you who cares. :) Thanks!

To **Live How You Want To Live **- No, you haven't. :) Thanks!


	15. Birthday Nightmares

At nine-thirty, Sophie pretended to go to bed early while Jamie cleaned up around the house a bit before going upstairs.

"You take forever!" Sophie complained when Jamie finally walked into her room. "Are you ready yet?"

"Yeah," Jamie said, tugging on his sleeves to make sure his scars weren't showing. Sophie paused, and Jamie grew defensive. "What?"

"It isn't going to be cold," Sophie pointed out quietly. She took a deep breath and added, "Maybe you can leave your jacket here?"

"Soph - "

"They're your friends, right?" Jamie didn't reply, and Sophie frowned. "C'mon, Jamie, you can't hide them forever like Jack. If anyone says anything - "

"Soph, it's okay," Jamie assured her, smiling. "I'm used to it being a little hot."

Sophie sighed. "If they're really your friends, they would at least _try _to understand." She grabbed the snowglobe off a shelf and glanced at her older brother, who looked undecided about something. "Ready?"

Jamie turned toward the door. "Just - hold on, okay?"

"It's getting late!" she warned him as he ran out of her room.

Jamie grabbed his markers and shoved them into his pocket while he shrugged off his jacket. Sophie was right. His friends wouldn't be too judgemental or anything...right? He hoped they wouldn't be. But just in case...it was better to be safe than sorry and take the markers.

"Are you ready now?" Sophie asked him when he walked into her room.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Sophie stepped through the portal first and yelped when she slipped on ice. She recovered in time to hear Jack's laugh. She looked up and shook her head. "_Jack Frost!_"

"Whoops!" Jack chuckled, landing in front of her. "Sorry 'bout that, Soph."

"I'm barely getting here, and somebody's already in trouble," Jamie commented as he walked through the portal.

"Happy birthday, Jamie!" everyone shouted, and Jamie was stunned when he looked around.

"Wow, this is great." Jamie admired the workshop, which had been decorated with various colored streamers, party balloons and was styled to look like an arcade. But Jamie focused on his friends, who had all managed to make it to the party.

Jamie suddenly wished he hadn't left his jacket at home.

Tooth hugged the eighteen year old suddenly and whispered, "Happy birthday, Jamie."

"Thanks, Tooth," Jamie said gratefully, hugging her back.

Bunny patted Jamie on his back, telling him, "You're growin' up too fast, mate."

Sandy nodded in agreement, but he gave Jamie a thumbs-up as Tooth let him go.

North pulled the teen - adult? - into a tight hug and told him, "You are becoming a great man, Jamie Bennet. We are all very proud of you."

Having heard many things in his life from his biological father that were very different from North's words, Jamie wasn't sure what to say to that or even if he should believe it. Then North released him with a proud smile, and Jamie realized it didn't matter what his biological father had said - because the man in front of him believed in Jamie wholeheartedly and treated him more like a son than his own dad did.

"Thanks, Dad," Jamie said, beaming.

Snow landed lightly in Jamie's hair, and he looked up at Jack, who laughed and landed beside him.

"Hey there, little brother," Jack greeted him with a smirk.

Jamie grinned back. "I'm not gonna be your little brother for much longer, Jack."

The winter spirit shook his head stubbornly. "I might look younger than you," he admitted, "but I'm still older than you. So you'll always be my little brother." But both of them wondered if that was true. "What, I don't get a hug?"

Jamie rolled his eyes and hugged the winter spirit, who added, "Stop growing."

The younger teen laughed again. "I wish I could."

"C'mon, guys, it's supposed to be a party, right?" Caleb reminded them.

"Yeah, he isn't dying," Claude added, but Jamie thought he saw a look of fear on Jack's face at the mention of death.

Jamie shook his head. "Right," he said, catching everyone's attention, "so let's have some fun!"

As they split up, Pippa was the first to see Jamie's scars. She grabbed his arm to get a closer look, but she didn't notice Jamie tensing up. "Jamie, what happened?"

The older teen pulled his arm away quickly. "Nothing!" he lied quickly, and Pippa narrowed her eyes.

"Is this why you always wear long sleeves?" she asked, suddenly, and Jamie felt sick when he heard her tone. It was like his mother's when she'd found out. Not angry or cold, but still disappointed.

Monty was walking by when he heard them talking. He saw Jamie's scars and stared in shock. Jamie's stomach did a flip, and he swallowed silently. _Don't - _

"Wow, Jamie," Monty commented, then coughed. "I, uh, I didn't know you cut yourself."

"Jamie, why would you do something like this?" Pippa asked sadly, and Jamie wanted to run. He took a step back - and bumped into someone.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jack asked curiously. The other Guardians had sent him over to find out what was going on and calm the teens.

Pippa and Monty both looked at Jamie, who seemed to shrink slightly under their gazes. "I don't wanna talk about it," he said finally, shrugging. He glanced at his friends, who reluctantly dropped the subject. But he knew it wasn't over.

Caleb and Claude shared a knowing look and raced over to Cupcake, who was playing a guitar. Caleb tapped Cupcake on her shoulder to catch her attention.

"Not now," Cupcake said absently. Caleb rolled his eyes and pushed her slightly. "Hey!" she snapped, glaring at them.

"I know it's pretty bad timing," Claude said quickly as his twin backed away, "but maybe you should talk to Jamie."

"Me? What - ?"

"Jamie used to cut himself," Claude said bluntly after making sure his older friend wasn't nearby. He poked her in the shoulder, and she scowled at him. "We're not blind or stupid, Cake."

"How'd you - ?" Cupcake began, confused, but Caleb interrupted her.

"About one in twelve teens self-harm," he informed her quietly, "Imagine how many people there are in our school who do it."

Claude added with a helpless shrug, "After a while, you learn what signs to look out for."

Cupcake frowned at them. "You two seem to know a lot about it."

"Yeah," Caleb agreed, "but we never wanted to hurt ourselves. It'll be different coming from us."

"But I - "

The twins gave her a pleading look. "Yeah, you quit, but Jamie's still struggling."

Cupcake hesitated, then shook her head and handed them her guitar before going to talk to Jamie, who was talking to Jack.

"Hey, Jamie," she said carefully. The twins had said that Jamie used to cut himself, but she wasn't sure whether or not the triggers she used to have were the same as his. After all, she hadn't cut herself, and that had been years ago. "I heard you have scars." A terrible way to start a conversation, but it was better than nothing.

Jamie sighed, and Jack watched them silently. "Look, Cupcake, now's really not - " He stopped when the older girl pulled her sleeve over her shoulder.

_Burn scars? _Jamie stared at the scars before looking up at her. "Cupcake, what - ?"

She shook her head and mumbled, "I'll tell you later."

Caleb suddenly hugged the two and declared, "This is the best party ever!"

Jamie chuckled nervously, but he was grateful for the distraction. "Yep."

"Who else can say they celebrated their 18th b-day at the North Pole?" Claude added, grinning.

"Not you," Cupcake said flatly, and the twins rolled their eyes.

"Way to ruin our dream, Cake," Caleb said, but he smiled.

"Speaking of cakes, do they even have one?"

Jack decided to step into the conversation. "Of course! But..." He trailed off, glancing at an elf who was covered in frosting. "It's not done yet. So go have some fun while we finish making it."

The twins and Cupcake ran off while Jamie shook his head.

Jack elbowed him. "What's up? It's your birthday, right? Be happy."

Jamie frowned. "I don't know... I just have a bad feeling." _Like something bad's gonna happen._

"Bad feeling, huh?" Jack patted Jamie's shoulder reassuringly. "It'll be okay."

Jamie just shrugged, but he still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. "I guess." He looked around. "Where's Sophie?"

"Probably hanging out with Bunny." Jack poked the frosted elf with his staff, knocking it over. "Whoops."

"Is the cake not ready because of something you did, or because of them?" Jamie asked, pointing at the elf.

"A little bit of both," Jack admitted, then grinned. "I should probably go help." He waved at Jamie, then flew to the kitchen. Jamie shook his head with a smile and went to join his friends.

It took about thirty minutes before the cake was finally finished, but Jamie didn't mind. He blinked at the cake, which was two-layered and decorated the same way as the cupcakes from that morning. He smiled at the Guardians and told them, "This is the best birthday ever."

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday", and Jamie thought about his wish carefully before he blew out the candles.

Opening the presents was next. Jamie had gotten his present from Pippa that afternoon, but now he got presents from everyone else. Cupcake had given him a gift card with $20, and the twins and Monty had put their money together to buy Jamie a collection of books about mythical creatures. Sophie had bought her older brother a movie he wanted.

Tooth gave him a necklace, and North gave Jamie a small matryoshka doll. Sandy gave Jamie a dreamsand star to put on Tooth's necklace, and Bunny gave him an egg-shaped moonstone with Jamie's friends and the Guardians carved into it. Jamie was thanking everyone when someone tapped him on his shoulder.

Jack handed over a key-chain with a wooden snowflake. "You can carry it around or add it to Tooth's necklace," he said with a careless shrug. Jamie hugged him, and Jack smiled sadly. "Happy birthday, Jamie."

"Thanks, Jack."

It was getting late when Jamie got home a few hours later. Sophie had gone home at midnight, but Jamie had stayed until almost two in the morning. Jamie smiled and placed his gifts and Sophie's new emergency snowglobe on his desk and put his markers away.

He started to yawn and went to lay down in bed. But then his good mood died when his door swung open suddenly.

"Where the hell were you?" Mr. Bennet demanded, storming into the room.

Jamie nearly fell out of bed as his mom entered quietly. The eighteen year old stood up and faced his father, startled. "What?"

"Where were you?" Mr. Bennet repeated, irritated.

Jamie hesitated. _I can't say the North Pole, but - _

"Well?"

"I was at the lake," Jamie lied, looking down. "I had a nightmare and - and I needed some air." It was too late for a fight, so it would be easier to just wait out his dad's anger. Lie, and hope he believed it. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"Jamie, we were worried about you," Mrs. Bennet told him quietly. "First Sophie had a nightmare, and then you were gone - "

_Sophie had a nightmare? _"Is she okay?" Jamie asked, worried.

"She's fine," his mom assured him, "but when I came in here, you were gone."

"What were you doing in my room at two in the morning?" Jamie asked, confused.

Mrs. Bennet started to reply, but her husband beat her to it. "Boy, you may be eighteen now, but you never question your mother! And if we catch you sneaking out again - "

"It _won't _happen again," Jamie said quickly. "I promise."

His dad gave him a look, and Jamie realized his mistake too late. He'd only made it worse.

"Don't interrupt me," Mr. Bennet told him, raising his voice, "and don't use that tone with me."

_What tone? _"I didn't use a tone," Jamie said, trying to control his own anger. _Just please go away._

Mrs. Bennet shook her head, silently warning Jamie to just stop talking.

"You're grounded," Mr. Bennet snapped, then held out his hand. "Hand over your phone. You're not going to talk to or even see your friends outside of school until you learn some respect."

Jamie gritted his teeth but didn't say anything. He handed over his phone, which he hardly ever used anyway, and his father left the room. Mrs. Bennet lingered in the doorway, and she opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She shook her head with a sigh and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Jamie grabbed his markers and started writing all over his arms, swearing under his breath. Once he'd calmed down, he put the markers up again and laid down. _Dad didn't say how long I'm supposed to be grounded._ Until he'd learned respect?

Respect... Jamie sat up in bed, remembering something. "How can you demand respect when you don't respect others?" he muttered under his breath. His dad had never respected him. He'd once read Jamie's texts when the teen had left his phone at home on accident. And now Pippa and Monty might try to text him about his scars, or even Cupcake and the twins might want to talk to him about it.

_Mom won't let him read them again, right? _He doubted that. But there was nothing he could -

_Wait a second_. Jamie glanced at the snowglobe on his desk. _Would this count as an emergency? _The teen bit his lip, considering it.

No. Jack would be more than happy to help, but it woudn't be fair to drag him into Jamie's problems.

Jamie laid back down and tried to relax. As he fell asleep, a nightmare appeared in his room. Jack wasn't there this time, and the nightmares had been waiting impatiently to attack the younger teen.

At the North Pole, the Guardians were chatting and bickering as they took down decorations. Nobody noticed Manny trying to catch their attention.

~RotG~

I have no idea where this is going...

To **LaliwuvsanimeX3 **- I'm glad it was cute. :)

To **AngelXJackFrost - **Me too. :) Everyone seemed to think he would. And I celebrated with ice cream. :) Congrats on being clean for two weeks! Wow, Vietnam? Well, have fun and good luck! :)

To **Live How You Want To Live **- Here it is. :)

To **pottercouples1216** - Thanks! :)

To **Zorua Illusion **- Something about Jack's reaction? And I understand. :) And something did sort of happen.

To **Skyra Moon **- Thanks! And that's okay, I find a lot of great stories after they're already over. :) I'm glad you love it even if it brings back memories.

To **Guest - **This is probably the hardest chapter I've written because of the party.


	16. Nightmares and Frozen Elves

It had taken an hour for Sophie to go back to sleep after waking from her first nightmare, and then she was being thrown into another one. The first one had been about her friends and the Guardians, but her second nightmare was completely different.

"Jamie!" Sophie woke up screaming and crying from a nightmare. "No!"

Her eighteen year old brother also woke up and sat bolt upright, gasping for air and choking on the vivid memory of icy water. He tried to calm down while his heart raced wildly. Then the memory of the nightmare came back, and he held his head in his hands. _I didn't save her._

But he tried to remind himself that it was just a nightmare and that Sophie was fine. He started to get out of bed to go check on her when Sophie ran into his room and nearly tackled him with a tight hug.

"Don't die, Jamie," she sobbed, hugging him. "Please... I was so scared."

Jamie hugged her back and told her reassuringly, "It's okay, Soph. It was just a bad dream. A nightmare. It's okay now, see? We're both okay." Sophie shook her head and trembled slightly. Jamie sighed and told her gently, "Try to go back to sleep. I'll watch over you."

Sophie hesitated and rubbed away her tears. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

Sophie bit her lip, but she eventually nodded and laid down. Jamie covered her with a blanket and moved to sit on the edge so she could have more room.

"What's happening?" she asked him uneasily. "Why are the nightmares coming back?"

Jamie shrugged helplessly. "I don't know." Sophie started to sit up, so he added quickly, "But it'll be okay. I'll make sure you won't have anymore tonight."

"You promise?" Her tone was doubtful, so Jamie tried to smile for her.

"I promise." But she still didn't look convinced. Jamie reached over to grab his necklace given to him by Tooth and pulled the dreamsand charm off. He winced at all the hard work Sandy must have put into making it, but this was more important.

Sophie finally stopped crying and started to fall asleep. Jamie stood up and went to sit by his window. He looked down to see an agitated nightmare pacing in the yard. He glanced at the time. Three-forty a.m. He sighed and leaned against the window frame. It was gonna be a long night...

He looked up at the full moon. "Where's Jack?"

The moon didn't answer.

Jack was in Burgess, a few streets away from Jamie's house. He had just caught a nightmare trying to sneak into Cupcake's room. He grinned at the sleeping teenager but then remembered her scars.

These kids mean the world to me, and I never noticed they were suffering.

Jack looked around the room carefully, but he didn't find anything she could have used. _Maybe she quit?_ But he was going to keep an eye on her just in case.

"Time to go see Jamie and Sophie," Jack said to himself as he left Cupcake's house. But then another nightmare appeared, and it seemed to be heading toward Pippa's house. "Don't you guys ever take a break?" Jack shook his head but he couldn't help enjoying himself as he went after the nightmare.

Jamie shook his head, blinking. _Stay awake, stupid! _

He stood up and stretched with a yawn. He looked at Sophie, who was still sleeping peacefully. He sighed in relief when he heard something. Was it laughter?

Jamie stuck his head out the window and saw the same nightmare as before, but it seemed skittish now. It pawed the ground anxiously before suddenly galloping away. Jamie frowned. That was...weird.

"You know - " Jamie spun around to face Pitch, who seemed perfectly calm. "When I first found out you were cutting yourself, I have to admit, I was surprised. You don't seem like the type to harm yourself."

"You again?" Jamie grumbled, rubbing his forehead wearily. "What are you doing here?"

"You had a nightmare," Pitch said simply, "so of course I was curious about what the last light and his sister would be scared of now." He moved closer to the bed, but Jamie stepped in front of him. Pitch raised his hands in surrender. "It's rare for dreams of any sort to become linked like that." Before Jamie could ask him about it, Pitch went on, "I'm also here to give you a warning, just as I did with Jack a few years ago." His golden eyes flickered to Sophie, who was still sleeeping.

Jamie glared at him. _No, she won't. _"Why?"

Pitch chuckled. "Don't you remember? Only a month ago, Sophie lost a friend. She may look okay...but is she really? You both have had a rough day."

"She's fine," the teen snapped defensively.

The Nightmare King was unimpressed and ignored him. "A very rough day, indeed," he murmured, mostly to himself. Then he looked at Jamie and added, "Frost said the same about you. In fact, it was on the very same night that you first started cutting." He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something. Then he smirked slightly. "Do you remember it?"

Jamie didn't like to remember those times, but he did remember being stressed and deeply hurt by something his father had said. That was usually the reason every other time. Sometimes there wasn't any reason. Other times, the reason was just that he needed to. "No," he finally admitted, looking over at Sophie worriedly.

Pitch shook his head, a look of pity on his face. But his tone was mocking. "Well, while _you _were having fun with your friends tonight, _Sophie _was trying not to cry her poor heart out." He paused, letting that sink in. "You know how it feels, don't you? How painful it is to act like you're happy when you aren't."

Jamie didn't have to answer, and Pitch nodded slightly. "I'll keep that in mind," the teen finally said, but he frowned at Pitch. Something was off about him, and Jamie wasn't sure what it was. He was also unsure what to make of Pitch's...advice.

"You should," Pitch said shortly. "Because if you aren't careful, she'll only end up just like you. _Scarred_."

Jamie reached for something to throw, but Pitch was gone. He looked at the emergency snow globe in his hand and sighed. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked at Sophie. She had seemed fine... And what would Pitch know about Sophie being upset?

But Jamie couldn't help worrying about his little sister. What if Pitch _was _right? But then why had the nightmares been there if Pitch had only wanted to talk about Sophie?

Jamie was starting to get a headache from the lack of sleep and too much thinking. But he decided he would have to talk to the Guardians about everything that had happened. He had to do _something_.

He shook Sophie and whispered, "Come on, Soph, we can't stay here tonight."

"Where are we going?" She yawned. "It's already five-thirty! Mom will be going to work in a few hours."

"We have to go," her brother insisted, grabbing his jacket. "I can't leave you here - " _Not with all the nightmares and Pitch running around. _" - but I have to tell North about the nightmares. We'll come back as soon as I'm done telling him." He hesitated, then grabbed his markers.

Sophie grumbled sleepily before nodding. "Okay." She grabbed the snow globe and shook it, saying, "The North Pole!"

When they arrived, a yeti nearly crashed into them, then panicked at finding them back at the Pole and without any warning.

"I'm tired," Sophie told him sleepily, and the yeti seemed to understand and began giving orders to the others.

The Bennets were given a guest bedroom to sleep in, and Sophie fell asleep again the moment she laid down in one of the beds. Jamie decided to stay up, so he could tell North about the nightmares and Pitch.

"Jamie!" North greeted him with a smile, but he seemed to know that something was wrong. "What are you two doing back here so soon?"

_Of course he does_, Jamie thought, _why else would we be here at five-something in the morning if something wasn't wrong?_

"Sophie had a nightmare," Jamie informed him, then mumbled, "And so did I."

"Nightmares?"

The teen nodded. "And Pitch came by our house again. He said something, then left."

North frowned. "What did he say?"

Jamie started to tell him, then stopped. _Sophie's fine now._ "Nothing." _We can handle it._

North doubted that whatever Pitch had said was "nothing", but he didn't force Jamie to tell him. "Get some rest," he said instead, "and I will call the others."

Jack was the first to arrive. He had gotten to the Bennets' house, only to find them missing. And the black sand on Jamie's pillow didn't help him to calm down. He was already on his way to the North Pole to tell North when he saw the lights. Once he got to the workshop, he began searching for North to ask about Jamie and Sophie.

_They have to be here._ Jack needed to know they were okay and not with Pitch. Who knew what he would do to him? Or if he had caused Jamie to relapse... _No, Jamie's stronger than that now. _Jack hoped he was.

It took several minutes before Jack finally found Phil, who guessed what was bothering the teen and lead him to the Bennets' room.

A few elves were trying to quietly sneak out of the guest bedroom when Jack nearly ran into them over. The elves panicked, and the bells on their hats began ringing shrilly as they raced to get out of the way.

Jamie had been resting peacefully in one bed while Sophie was sleeping in the other bed. While Sophie barely stirred in her sleep at the racket, Jamie jolted awake, startled. He yawned and started to get out of bed when he noticed a yeti and a certain winter spirit shooing the elves out.

Jack froze one when it didn't move fast enough, and Phil glared at him disapprovingly before picking the frozen elf up and carrying him out.

The winter spirit laughed, leaning on his staff.

"Jack?"

~RotG~

Imagine how long this chapter would have been if I hadn't taken the nightmare out. I'm so sorry for the long wait and short chapter! I've been busy... :(

Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story! :)

To **LaliwuvsanimeX3** - I guess.

To **Zorua Illusion **- Okay. :)

To **Guest **- Sorry for the wait!

To **AngelXJackFrost** - I'm sorry. It's good that you're still trying. I know what you mean; my parents are like that too.

To **Live How You Want To Live** - :) Thanks!

To **Tigermike83 **- Thanks. :) And maybe he will.

To **royriza4ever** - I'm sorry for the long wait after the cliffhanger.

To **smallvillephantom14** - I'm glad. :)

To **Skyra Moon** - Thanks! :)


	17. Making Plans

After a long hour in the globe room, the other Guardians had already started coming up with ideas on how to deal with Pitch this time. While they talked, Jack and Jamie retreated to the guest room, with the younger teen struggling to stay awake as he sat on the edge of his bed. Jack leaned against the wall between the beds, letting his staff rest against his shoulder.

Jack noticed and felt guilty. _I wasn't there to help them. _"The nightmares can't get in here," he pointed out, "so you're safe here."

Jamie covered his mouth as he yawned, then said tiredly, "I'm okay, but I wanna make sure Sophie's alright."

The winter spirit shook his head. "She had more time to sleep than you. Trust me, she's fine."

Realizing that he wouldn't win with that argument, Jamie decided to change the subject. "So how did North react?" he asked curiously. "You never got to tell me."

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that," Jack said, nodding. "I told you that he found out from the others, right?" Earning a nod, he went on, "Well, I ran away from them, but from what Tooth told me, I guess he was mostly confused. All I know is that he found me in Antarctica, and we talked about believing in what others say about us." He paused, staring out the window, his fingers dancing lightly on the staff. "I told him, and he hugged me."

Jamie smiled; he had figured North would have done something like that.

"Then he told me it would be okay." Jack shrugged. "It was actually his idea to start designing the snowflakes to keep me distracted."

"Really?" The younger teen hadn't expected that. "But didn't you design them before then?"

"Yeah, but..." Jack trailed off. "It was different. While before it was just a way to pass time, it became a way to distract myself and keep from cutting again."

Jamie thought about the markers in his pocket and realized that it was almost the same thing. _How many people draw on their self for fun without knowing that somewhere else, there's someone who does it because they need to?_

Later, Sophie woke up slowly to the sound of a teasing voice and another person's laughter. She smiled to herself when she heard Jamie laughing. It had been a while, and after a long night, she hoped it was a good sign. Reluctantly, she pushed herself into a sitting position.

Jamie was sitting on the edge of his bed with Jack standing between both of them.

"Look who finally woke up," Jack said, chuckling. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty."

Sophie yawned, then blinked at them. "What time is it?"

"Seven," Jamie replied, then winced. "Did you sleep better than I did?"

She gave him an odd look. "What?"

"Your brother only slept a few hours," Jack explained calmly. "I told him to go back to sleep, but he was worried about you."

Sophie looked at Jamie curiously, but he didn't deny it, just looked away. _Protective older brothers_, she thought with a smile, then frowned when she thought about what would happen if she got a boyfriend. _They're gonna kill him._ And she didn't doubt that.

"I guess I did," she said after a moment, remembering Jamie's question. "Where are we?"

"The North Pole," Jack answered, grinning.

Sophie froze. "Mom and Dad are gonna be worried! Jamie!"

"We didn't stay the night, Soph," Jamie told her quickly.

She didn't relax yet. "But what if they come home to see us gone?"

"I already handled it," Jack reassured her. "Your dad was already gone, but he won't be home for a few weeks. Your mom's taking a day off."

Sophie glanced at Jamie, who shrugged. "He won't tell me," the older Bennet said, then added with a glare at the winter spirit, "which is unfair. She's _our _mom!"

"Hey, at least I got your phone back!" Jack reminded him, and Sophie noticed a strange look cross her brother's face. "And she's not hurt."

Jamie opened his mouth, then closed it and stood up. Sophie and Jack shared a confused look as he walked out of the room. After a tense silence, Sophie said nervously, "What did you do?"

"I used some dreamsand and knocked her out," Jack admitted, grinning sheepishly. "That way she couldn't catch Jamie out of the house. Besides, she looked like she was tired."

Sophie couldn't help laughing. "Jack! I can't believe you did that!" she giggled, but once she calmed down, she realized what else Jack had said. "Wait. What did Jamie do?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. He said he was under house arrest and had his phone taken away."

Sophie smiled. "So you got it back for him?" _That's sweet._

Jack leaned on his staff. "It's just so he can delete some messages. Then I'm gonna put it back."

She gave him a look. "What messages?"

Jack paused, then looked around, as if worried someone would catch his telling an important secret. "Everyone found out, and Jamie's dealing with their..._concern_." His tone was strangely harsh and almost resentful, which caught the younger Bennet off guard. He had never used that tone with any of the Burgess kids. But then she remembered that it wasn't just about Jamie - Jack could have easily been receiving whatever the others were saying.

Sophie definitely didn't want to know any more about it.

Jamie was walking around the workshop, ducking around yetis who grumbled at him, when he got a call from Pippa and answered it with a tentative, "Hello?"

Her voice was soft but careful. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but I just..." He heard her take a deep breath. "Why do you cut yourself?"

Jamie thought about all the reasons. Stress that was caused by his dad, work, school, taking care of Sophie, never seeing his best friend...and many other things. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall outside the guest bedroom.

Once he started talking, he couldn't stop himself. He brushed a few tears away, annoyed, but he couldn't keep his voice from shaking slightly. Pippa stayed quiet and didn't say anything until he'd finally ran out of words, Jamie started to rub at old scars; it was a habit he'd picked up that had irritated healing cuts enough to calm him down. Since he hadn't relapsed for a while, it wouldn't do anything to hurt him. He absently pulled a marker out of his pocket and started drawing as he waited quietly for his friend to say _something_.

After a long moment of silence, Pippa said softly, "I'm sorry."

Jamie sighed softly and shook his head. "It's fine."

"No, it isn't," she said quietly. "Look, I have to go - but can we talk later? Face to face?"

Jamie hesitated, biting his lip. "My dad grounded me. He said I can't see anyone outside of school until I learned some respect."

"But he didn't take your phone away?"

"He did," Jamie told her. "But Jack got it back so I could talk to you and everyone else. Can you tell them not to text or call me? Once I get my phone back..."

"Okay," she said, nodding even though Jamie couldn't see it. "But you have to call me if _anything _happens, okay?"

"Sure," Jamie said, though he doubted that he could, even if his mom was less...strict than his dad. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens, huh?"

"Yeah," she agreed, then added, "Bye, Jamie."

Jamie sighed. "Bye." Hanging up, he noticed an elf trying to drag some Christmas lights across the floor. "Hey, you need some help?"

The elf stopped, looking up at him with wide eyes, then looked around before turning back to Jamie. He pointed at himself with a shocked "_Who, me?_" expression. Jamie picked up one end of the lights, saying with a slight smile, "Yeah, you. Need help?"

The elf brightened up, nodding eagerly and nearly racing away with one end of the lights held tightly in his hands, and Jamie tried to wrap up his end a little before following him. As they walked, the eighteen year old looked around in wonder at the workshop. It was just something he never could get over seeing, no matter how many times he visited the place.

The elf was quickly joined by a few others, and soon they were playing tug-of-war with the lights, which slipped out of the teen's hands during their fight. "You guys are going to break those," he warned them, but he didn't think they heard over the ringing of the bells on their hats.

A passing yeti saw them and snatched the lights away from them, saying something sharply to them as Jamie snuck back to the guest room, where Jack was telling Sophie about a fox he used to play with and a hunter he'd played many pranks on. "One of his dogs hated me, but the other one seemed to like me."

"Have you ever been attacked by an animal?" Sophie asked curiously, barely glancing at Jamie when he entered the room.

Jack grinned at him, then looked back at Sophie. "A few times, but of course I got away!"

"So what happened with the fox?" Jamie asked, sitting beside Sophie.

Jack tilted his head back, trying to remember. "I don't know. I had gone back to Burgess for a few weeks, and when I got back to that town, he was gone. Guess he ran off." He shrugged. "I never saw him, and I doubt he would have recognized me. Once he grew up, he wouldn't have been able to see me again."

"Why not?"

The Guardian looked at the staff in his hands, suddenly uninterested in his own story. "You should probably ask North that. He knows more about it than I do. I was only seen by animals, but North was seen by people before. It might have something to do with belief, but I'm not sure."

"So animals believed in you?"

"More like they sensed me. If they knew I was there, then they didn't have much of a choice about believing in me. But usually only the baby animals saw me." He looked up at the Bennets. "After a while, they stopped noticing me too."

"Oh," Sophie said, frowning. _That sounds kind of like how most kids stop believing in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny after a certain age_, she thought, then shook her head sadly. _It must be really lonely for them._

Jamie stood up with a yawn. "I think I'm gonna take a nap," he informed them, then went to lay down in the other bed.

Jack smiled and turned to Sophie. "Wanna help me prank the yetis?"

She grinned, but Jamie warned him from where he was, "If she ends up with no presents this year because of you - "

"Pfft, don't worry!" His older friend reassured him. "It'll be fine. Plus, Bunny wouldn't let that happen!" Sophie nodded in agreement, and Jamie decided to let it go. The other teens left him to go find some "materials".

Jack led Sophie to a room where many of the yetis were testing out the various toys and games they had created. Jack stole a camera and a bucket while Sophie grabbed some paint and some fireworks. She wondered why someone would get fireworks for Christmas but then almost lost sight of Jack. _No more daydreaming for me_, she thought, smiling.

"C'mon, Soph!" Jack called over his shoulder, and the twelve year old hurried to catch up.

~RotG~

Kind of boring chapter... But I threw in a reference to Stay Safe. I have to update that soon... Oh, hey, I'm alive! My mom told me that RotG was on earlier, and it occured to me that I hadn't updated in over a month. Bad Lin, I know. But school started, so things are gonna slow down a lot... Sorry! :)

I've missed you guys. Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story! :)

To **pottercouples1216 **- Oops. Sorry! :)

To **royriza4ever **- Thanks! :) I'll try to be faster next time.

To **Guest **- Thanks. :) I don't know, Pitch seems like the kind of person who can hold a grudge. And I agree, these poor kids.

To **torihuffman9 **- I'm sorry to hear that. If you ever wanna talk, I'm here. :) And I'm glad you like this story.

To **Fleeing Dawn **- I'm glad you like it and that it helps. :) I know what you mean, I read a lot of fanfics like this too. If you ever wanna talk, I'm always here to listen. :)

Y'all have a great week! :)


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